Dubai, Hong Kong, Las Vegas...Scotstoun.

The glitz and glamour of the HSBC Sevens World Series knows no bounds. The lingering feel-good factor of Glasgow Warriors' RaboDirect Pro-12 triumph in Ireland on Friday night had helped to generate a fair bit of whooping and hollering in their home ground yesterday as the Emirates Airline Sevens got under way amid a relentless racket of thumping music, inflatable hand clappers and general shrieking and shouting.

No one roared louder than touchline trooper and DJ Grant Stott, who mingled with his microphone and already had a voice that sounded like a broken down freight train by lunch time. It was going to be a hard shift for the vocal chords. The din had clearly affected the operator of the giant screen who triumphantly posted a huge message congratulating the aforementioned Warriors on reaching the "2013/2014 Play-Offs". Sporting clairvoyance, it seems, is alive and kicking in this part of Glasgow – but you didn't need to be a fortune teller to predict that Scotland's seven were going to be in for a tough time of it.

With their world series status hanging in the balance, the morning's early exchanges offered up some ominous signs. The United States, Scotland's rivals in peril in a share of 12th on the rankings, fired an instant warning shot in their opening group match as they demolished the Russians 48-5. The Americans were so powerfully rampant they probably could have barged their way through the wall of the Kremlin. Nick Edwards plundered a hat-trick of tries as they threw an early star-spangled spanner into the Scottish works.

In the host nation's own pool, New Zealand, the defending champions and world series leaders, were quickly into their stride and racked up five tries through five different players in a commanding 31-5 triumph over England. Temperatures were rising on the pitch – Canada hauled themselves back from 17-0 down against Samoa to record a heroic, last-gasp 19-17 win – even though the mercury felt like it was plummeting off it. In the decidedly parky conditions, the bold lads who had embraced the fancy dress aspect of the Scotstoun showpiece must have regretted the decision to go with the drag option and come as scantily-clad mermaids.

They certainly needed something to warm the cockles and it arrived when the home side hit the ground running with a morale-boosting 26-5 defeat of the Portuguese. Colin Shaw darted over the line twice and Michael Fedo bolstered the tartan tally before Chris Dean gilded the lily in the last knockings as the Scots made a purposeful start to their campaign.

They were then handed a boost when James Davies scored a match-turning try in the dying seconds to give Wales, the reigning World Sevens champions, a 26-21 win over the US. With a match against Auld Enemies England next up, the home side had an opportunity to seize an advantage but Stephen Gemmell's men just never got going and were immediately on the back foot when Dan Norton, the sevens speed king who moves quicker than a fired bullet, hurtled over the line. The Scots were already staring down the barrel of a gun and the English, a completely different outfit to the one that had surrendered to the All Blacks, blasted their old foes aside. Apart from a converted Scott Riddell try, Scotland were never at the races and were routed 29-7.

"We didn't perform in this match and knowing we could have done more is what hurts the most," lamented Gemmell. "We ended up playing as individuals and I've always said as individuals we are not good enough – collectively we can beat anyone."

The all conquering New Zealanders are not just anyone, of course. Scotland have never beaten the Kiwis at any form of rugby and the paying punters in the stands, even with reasonable quantities of booze clouding their thought processes, were sober enough in mind to realise that miracles don't happen. By the time the Scots trudged on for the final match at 7.20pm it was largely the diehards who remained.

The USA's 21-14 win over France, a crucial success clinched late on when Folau Niau sold the French defenders a dummy and eased over the line, pushed the American's into the cup quarter-finals and effectively condemned Scotland to next week's relegation play-offs with Hong Kong, Russia, Zimbabwe, Tonga and Georgia in London.

"We fancy our chances there but not if we play like we did against England," warned Gemmell.

The inevitable came to pass and a rapid-fire double-whammy from Sherwin Stowers set the New Zealanders on their way to a 28-0 triumph. The title holders ploughed on to contest today's elite Cup tournament alongside England, the US, South Africa, Canada, Fiji, Argentina and Wales. Scotland, and the rest, will have to muddle on in the Bowl competition.

It had not been the magnificent sevens they had been hoping for.