MICHAEL FEDO'S defiance dissipated almost immediately.

The Fifer was initially prepared to protest when asked if the perception of the HSBC Sevens World Series as a jolly around some of the more exotic parts of the rugby map was fair but, when reminded of pictures showing him cradling a koala bear in Australia and grinning for the camera in Moscow's Red Square, his objections quietened.

Of course, the physical demands of the competition and the desire to succeed remain significant, but they are easier to bear when you have just returned from the Gold Coast and can look forward to trips to Dubai and Port Elizabeth before Christmas and excursions to Las Vegas, Wellington, Tokyo and Hong Kong in the opening months of next year. "It does seem pretty glamorous, I suppose," the 23-year-old admits. "Let's just say it brings a smile to your face when you're picked to go away because it's pretty ideal for a young man to be travelling the world playing rugby. There are worse ways to live your life . . ."

That said, Fedo's enjoyment has been compromised by a shoulder injury sustained in Australia last week - he will have a scan today, but is not unduly concerned - and by the disappointment of a poor showing in the first event of the series. Having recovered a 21-0 deficit to hold the hosts to a draw in their opening pool match, Scotland lost narrowly to Samoa, then Argentina after missing a late conversion, to fail in their objective of finishing in the top two in their pool and earning a place in the last-eight cup competition. Instead, they dropped into the second tier bowl event, where their quarter-final win over the USA was followed by a last-four defeat at the hands of Canada.

With the long journey home offering plenty of time for reflection, Fedo has concluded that a talented and experienced squad of full-time players were undermined by psychological frailties rather than any physical deficiencies. "Lapses of concentration cost us," he says. "It's hard to say why it happens; we let other teams back into games. It's a mental challenge for us and we need to somehow overcome that barrier. Maybe a big win will do it but I don't think we're far from cracking it."

With the series concluding at Scotstoun, then Twickenham, next May, the squad have eight further chances to do so before the culmination of their season at the Commonwealth Games next summer. As it stands, the Scots will begin Glasgow 2014 as the seventh highest-ranked nation - ahead of the fast-improving Canadians and Kenyans - in a competition denuded of France, Argentina and sevens experts Fiji, whose membership of the Commonwealth remains suspended following a 2009 military coup and subsequent failure to hold democratic elections.

Those apart, the rest of the world's established rugby nations will send strong teams to Ibrox for a coveted prize. "Everyone is striving for that gold medal; it's their main focus even during the world series," Fedo explains. "Until Rio [the inclusion of sevens in the 2016 Olympics], Commonwealth gold was the most sought-after prize in the sport so everyone will be taking it really seriously.

"Ultimately, we're building up to Glasgow so we need to keep on improving. We want to be making the top eight on a regular basis and to do that we need to beat teams ranked above us and get through the group stages. If we can do that, and develop a winning mentality, maybe we can do something special with a home crowd behind us as Ibrox . . ."

As an Aberdeen supporter, the words stick in his throat. "That's all the more reason to go down there and get a win," he says, grinning.

While his selection has yet to be confirmed, the squad will mainly be selected from the 16 full-time sevens players contracted to the Scottish Rugby Union and potentially supplemented by a couple of more-established exponents of the 15-a-side game. However, the two disciplines have grown increasingly distinct in recent years, meaning that anyone parachuted in will likely require at least a grounding in the small-sided game - "Other countries might, but I don't think we'll be bringing along big names for the sake of it" - and be embedded with the squad for the final couple of events in the series.

Indeed, Fedo suggests it's easier to make the transition from sevens to fifteens, rather than the other way around. It was only after a gilded tenure at Bell Baxter High School - with whom he won the National Youth Cup and the Bell Lawrie Scottish Schools Cup - then local club Howe of Fife, that the Ceres native first experienced sevens while with Watsonians. However, after mixing the two while studying for a politics degree at Northumbria University in Newcastle, it quickly became apparent that his game was better suited to the increased space and faster pace of sevens and his studies were interrupted with a year remaining by the offer of a full-time contract little over a year ago.

Since then, he has travelled the world playing rugby and now finds himself imagining winning a Commonwealth Games medal. "If I'm fortunate enough to be in the squad for Glasgow, I'll be pretty goddamn excited and proud of myself," he says. "It would eclipse everything else . . . even going to all these glamorous places."