What's going on with Scotland in 'very disruptive' pre-World Cup period?

Things in the Scotland women’s national team garden looked rosier than ever when a record high of five in the world rankings was reached last September.

But fast forward 10 months and the colour seems to be draining quickly on the eve of the biggest ever Rugby World Cup with national team skipper Rachel Malcolm stating the preparations for the showpiece event have been “very disruptive”.

Not for the first time in Scottish rugby history, off field issues are getting in the way when all focus should be on the upcoming Summer Tests versus Italy on Friday in Viadana and Ireland on August 2nd in Cork, and then the main event itself in England.

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

Currently 38 players are working as hard as they can to make it into Scotland’s 32-strong World Cup squad which will be named a few days after the Ireland game.

They should be buzzing about the prospect of facing old rivals Wales in Manchester in their opening World Cup game on August 23rd, but right now the mood coming out of the camp seems more than flat.

The timing of the announcement last Friday that head coach Bryan Easson’s will be leaving post-World Cup and players’ ongoing discussions with Scottish Rugby about contracts and what will be happening from October onwards are providing a dismal undercurrent to what should be an exciting build up period.

Easson has been in post for five years, but it was announced in a press release via the governing body at the tail end of last week that he will not be in post after the World Cup.

Asked if she had known about that news for some time, captain Malcolm said: “Actually, I haven’t been aware of it for too long, it was probably similar timings to you guys [the media] finding out, so it’s obviously a shock.

“I think, for us as players, the timing of it was quite upsetting.

“What we have achieved in the time that Bryan has been in charge is pretty spectacular so I think it’s upsetting that he’s obviously stepping away from the post.

“I think the opportunity to go and do his career justice at this World Cup is definitely something that’s driving us as players.”

Current squad members have also been locked in discussions with the governing body about their contracts post-tournament, but nothing has been resolved fully as yet and Malcolm added: “It’s not ideal prep whatsoever for a World Cup. It’s been very disruptive.

“It’s made my job as a captain harder as my ethos as a captain is to make my players feel like superwomen. I also want to make them feel valued and make them feel like they belong.

“The processes which have gone on behind the scenes have definitely done almost the opposite of those three things.

“I think we have many different bits of external motivation at the minute, both in terms of what’s happening in our management team and what’s happening with our players, so all of those will definitely be acting as drivers as we move into the World Cup.”

When he was put in interim charge during the pandemic in 2020, Easson’s side grabbed a famous 13-13 draw with France.

Since he took the role full-time soon after that, there have been a lot of positives and the squad reached Rugby World Cup 2021 played in 2022 having not been at the tournament since 2010, they won the inaugural WXV 2 tournament in South Africa in 2023 and from that year into 2024 they won a record seven Tests on the bounce.

On the other hand, they also lost 12 games in a row between 2022 and 2023 and are now sitting seventh in the world rankings after just two wins in the last six with two assistant coaches leaving since this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

To date under Easson’s leadership in total, Scotland have won 19, lost 22 and drawn one and while last Friday’s press release stated that it was “his decision to leave”, from the outside that seems a moot point.

In recent times a new CEO in the shape of Alex Williamson and a new performance director in the shape of David Nucifora have joined Scottish Rugby and will have been working closely with head of women and girls’ strategy Gemma Fay of late.

Easson, whose current contract was running out after the World Cup, says discussions over his future were “sticky”.

“We have been in discussions for a long time just to see what’s happening and it’s been sticky,” the man who has worked at Scottish Rugby for 25 years in various roles admitted.

“I had a conversation with Alex [Williamson] three or four weeks ago and, with my contract running out, it was felt that it was the right time to move on and that was a conversation between two adults.

“The timing of discussions and decisions are always difficult, especially when you’re coming into a Rugby World Cup. I think that [the timing] was probably more of a frustration than anything.”

Easson said that he had a “couple of meetings” with Nucifora when the performance director first came into post, but that he had not heard from him recently with the Australian currently seconded to the British and Irish Lions.

But back to matters on the field, and in terms of the Italy match, second-row Emma Wassell will play for Scotland for the first time in 15 months after recovering from a tumour in her chest, discovered during Scotland’s 2024/25 pre-season training block.

 

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Since then, she has been working her way back to full fitness and, with the Women’s Rugby World Cup squad to be named in early August, the 30-year-old now has a chance to show that she is back to her best on her 68th cap.

Elsewhere, full-back Lucia Scott, centre Evie Wills, winger Coreen Grant and second-row Adelle Ferrie also join the starting XV, with multiple changes made from the side that beat Ireland in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations back in April.

Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Eva Donaldson, Alex Stewart, Caity Mattinson and the uncapped Hannah Ramsay join the bench.