Inside Scotland's chaotic World Cup build-up
Scotland's build-up to this year's Women's Rugby World Cup has been, to put it mildly, chaotic.They begin their tournament against Wales in Salford on Saturday, and their opening match jumps out as the critical one if they are to emerge from a pool that also contains Fiji and Canada.But in the weeks leading into the tournament, a dispute between the playing squad and Scottish Rugby around contracts has played out publicly.The impending departure of head coach Bryan Easson – and the timing of the announcement of his exit so close to the tournament – has also caused rancour among the players.Scotland are looking to right the wrongs of a painful pool stage exit at the last World Cup in 2022, but preparations for the biggest tournament of these players' careers has been far from ideal.
'Mental health suffers' amid contracts dispute
In June, a representative of the squad contacted the BBC anonymously to say that some players in the World Cup training camp were continuing to "suffer with their mental and emotional health following the potential loss of their contracts".When he subsequently spoke to BBC Scotland, Scottish rugby chief executive Alex Williamson acknowledged it was "an uncomfortable situation" that would be resolved before the tournament.However, Scotland wing Rhona Lloyd told the media at the World Cup squad announcement that the resolution reached has resulted in "more than half" of the 32-player squad being left without contracts after the tournament.Captain Rachel Malcolm described the situation as "very disruptive", said that Scottish Rugby "probably haven't had too much sympathy towards our case", and felt the players had been put in an "unfair position".As the tournament draws closer, Malcolm was keen to draw a line under the dispute and focus on the rugby, but admits the episode has taken a toll on her."I've been through many a tough time in this role, not just in the last six months," she told BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast."I know these girls inside out. I know the things which make them tick and I know what sets them off. I'm just very protective of them. "That's been hard for me to deal with. I just want to fight for them and I want the best for them as individuals and people. I think it's weighed on me, for sure. It's not just weighed on me, though. It's the whole group."
Head coach Easson's 'last dance'
Head coach Easson announced last month he would be leaving the role he has held since 2020 immediately after the World Cup.He declined to confirm if he was leaving the job of his own volition after what he described as "sticky" discussions with the SRU regarding his future.The news, coming little over a month before the World Cup, came as "a shock" according to Malcolm, who said it was "upsetting".Easson agreed the timing had been problematic, but is determined to bow out on a high."The fact it's the last dance, it does put that little bit of an extra edge on it," he told the the Scotland Rugby Podcast. "I'm just so excited to see what this group can do. "We've had some massive highs but some real lows and we've gone through a lot together. I think probably the strength of the group is some of the adversity that we've gone through."I've worked with a lot of these players for the last five, six, seven years and just to see them grow, going from 12th in the world to fifth and going into every game with real belief and expecting to win. It is a job that I have thoroughly enjoyed."
'Sour taste' from last World Cup
One of the driving motivations for Scotland is to ease the pain that still lingers from the last World Cup in 2022.It was the first time in 12 years the Scots had appeared in the tournament, but agonising narrow defeats by Wales (by three points) and Australia (by two) saw them exit at the pool stage."There's definitely still a sour taste in my mouth," said Malcolm. "I think we probably underestimated how much relief we felt to just be there."I don't know if we necessarily went into that with the right mindset and tenacity around what we wanted to achieve."I think this World Cup is different. We've gone back-to-back for the first time in a very long time in terms of qualifications."We don't just want to get there and enjoy the experience. We want to go there, we want to perform and we want to achieve."
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