CALLUM ANDERSON feels confident his Peebles can make good progress in this year's home Sevens- if they can navigate a tricky opening tie against Kelso at the Gytes this Sunday.


The Pees know they will be able to draw on vociferous home support in their own competition, but Anderson is wary of the threat that an in-form Kelso can pose.


Speaking to the Peeblesshire News, Anderson, who is coaching this year's side, said: “They have been playing quite well, they got to the quarter finals in Hawick last weekend. There are certainly easier ties we could have faced. We are going to have to work hard to get through that one.


“But we have been moving in the right direction in recent weeks. We played quite well at the Melrose Sevens. The weekend at Hawick we played a really good first tie and the second tie we were just a little bit slow to start against Gala. Once you start slow in Sevens, you are chasing your tail.


“When we played Gala at Gala, they put 40 points on us. Last weekend in the second round, it was much closer. So we are improving.”


Anderson concedes that a hangover from the league campaign was inevitable, and that it can take players a while to adapt to the different format.


“The hangover comes from a long season, in which we were quite unsuccessful. We definitely worked hard post-Christmas to stay up and got some good results  To fall flat and then get relegated, it is quite hard to then regroup and keep guys motivated for more rugby.

“There were a few players who needed a break, be it to manage injuries or to just take some time out. Some of those would have been good for us in the Sevens but you can’t blame them for that.


“I couldn’t play this year due to injury, so I am in a position where there would be a good degree of empathy there.”


Also also believes that extra effort on the training ground is starting to reap dividends.


“We have been working hard. Tuesday night was the first dry night of training we have had since we started sevens preparations. It has been raining all the time and the pitches haven’t been great.


"But we were just saying how much our handling skills have improved and our understanding of the sevens has got a lot better. People are starting to enjoy it and play some nice stuff.


"It’s just about putting it altogether now.”


Peebles will welcome a Latvian side to the Sevens for the first time on Sunday.


RFC Livonia are three-time Rugby sevens champion club in Latvia and won a clean sweep of all the available trophies in Latvian club competition in 2014. They will face Earlston in the first round.

The full draw is The full draw is Stewarts Melville v Jedforest; Watsonians v Melrose; Edinburgh Accies v Biggar; Earlston v RFC Livonia; Peebles v Kelso; Boroughmuir v Berwick; Gala v Howe of Fife; Selkirk v Hawick. The first tie gets underway at the Gytes at 1.30pm.