Latest news with #ScotlandRugbyPodcast.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wassell 'has so much to fight for' after tumour scare
Guinness Women's Six Nations: Scotland v IrelandVenue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh Date: Saturday, 26 April Kick-off: 14:30 BSTCoverage: Watch live on BBC Scotland, iPlayer & online, follow live text and watch video highlights on BBC Sport website & app On the face of it, it's not the most exhilarating of news stories - 'rugby player returns to training, now hitting tackle bags' - but in Emma Wassell's case it's as close to a sporting miracle as you are likely to recap the story of the 30-year-old, 67-times capped Scotland lock - last September a tumour (mercifully, benign) was discovered in her chest, then there was a bleed on the tumour, then there was the first surgery to remove part of the tumour, then a second surgery to remove the rest, a procedure that involved the collapsing of a wanted to call out for her mum, but Pauline had sadly passed away suddenly earlier in the year. Whenever you hear 'rugby family' being used in the parlance of the game the temptation is to brand it a cliche, but in Wassell's case, it's not. Her team-mates rallied round her in, and out, of hospital like a large gang of protective now here she is at Murrayfield, the picture of health and talking about the comeback, which she hopes will happen before the World Cup in England in August."The health is very good," the second row said on the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast."I've been running for four weeks now. I'm able to hit bags and hit the deck. I feel ready to keep pushing on. Mentally, I was worried about how I was going to feel doing contact, but I'm ready to get stuck in."The last thing that really needs ticked off is bone-on-bone contact, which we might trickle into very, very soon. We're honestly a few weeks short of playing. I tried very hard to push for the Ireland match [on Saturday] but there was no need to risk it. Focus on the World Cup. There's so much to play for and I'm just so excited." She was only 29 when all of this was happening. Her energy and positivity, her absolute love of the game and her appreciation of what it's given her, is a sight to behold."Everyone's like, 'how did you get through?' I do believe everyone would be the same," she explains. "You don't have a choice. When it's happening to you, you have no choice other than to get through it."I'm in a fortunate position. I have so much to fight for. For me, a huge motivator is playing for Scotland."The surgeon heard it many times. When I got told I was going to need a sternotomy, I went, 'I'll be able to play rugby again, right?' They're like, 'just be grateful you're alive'. Yes, I had a very serious operation, but I believe I've been really lucky in this whole situation. I don't know how you get through it, but you do."I always had this bigger picture of, 'I have been given this shot again to be able to play again', which I thought at one point was going to be taken away. There was a point where I thought I might never play rugby again. That's what broke me." Getting the boots on again was the driving force. There's no naivety here. She knows there's still a distance to travel between getting well and getting back in the Test doesn't just want to come back, she wants to come back as a better version of her old self. That alone will be a challenge. Wassell played 54 consecutive games for Scotland at her peak. Beat that. "Hopefully this thing has given me a few extra years," she laughs."Sometimes you cannot control your health but everything I've been able to control, I believe I've done. The goal is no sweeter than a World Cup, is it? That's the ultimate. Some of the girls have given me a bit of stick. 'You're just wrapping yourself in cotton wool to get there!'"The details of her treatment is the stuff of nightmares. "The scariest bit was when I didn't know what it was and they didn't know how they were going to operate so I obviously had to get all these biopsies," she explains."They initially went through my neck to get the biopsy and they couldn't get enough cells so then they had to go through my ribcage to get under my sternum to get into the main part of the tumour to get enough cells to be able to get a biopsy."When you're going through the rib to make sure that you don't cause any damage, you have to collapse a lung to get there. When I woke up after these biopsies, I would say that was one of the hardest moments. My body was in all sorts of pain. I couldn't understand why I couldn't breathe properly, I had chest drains in which were extremely sore and I was in the high dependency ward in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary."There was a lot of very, very sick people in there and that was when I was scared. I'm almost crying out for…well…I didn't have my mum there. She was a ray of sunshine in a room, a typically embarrassing proud mum. She was always watching me play. Honestly, with binoculars, couldn't bloody see a thing. Didn't know the rules. Didn't matter. She was there, a constant."A lot of the reason why I wear a headband was so she could spot me. It was hard enough telling my brother about being sick because I didn't want to put him through that. I would have hated putting my mum through it."Enter the Scotland team as auxiliary nurses. "I live my life with a lot of humour so even when I am lying in my hospital bed with tubes coming out of me, please crack a joke," she says."And they did and sometimes I would crack the joke and they'd be like, 'can we laugh? We don't know'. We've been through a hell of a lot. It's not just me. We've been through a huge journey together."Wassell joked with them that she'd be back in time for the Ireland game and the reaction was hilarious. Don't even think about it, was the hysterical gist. They weren't emotionally ready for her return. They wouldn't be able to a warm-up game ahead of the World Cup is the hope and the plan. No matter where it is and no matter who it's against, it will be special. The thought of it got her through the most awful time in her life and it feels more real now than at any point since illness got she keeps the tears at bay that day then she might be the only one.
BBC News
16-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Townsend optimistic on future but is it 'time for change'?
Gregor Townsend says he has "a lot of optimism for the future" as Scotland head coach, but former international team-mate Peter Wright says "it's time for a change" after eight by France in Paris consigned the Scots to a fourth-place Six Nations finish for the second successive Townsend's eight attempts at the tournament, Scotland have finished in the bottom half of the table on six occasions, with two third-place finishes the best his team has achieved in that was another Six Nations of unfulfilled promise, with victories over Italy and Wales and defeats by Ireland, England and the champions Wright believes a new voice in charge may be what the team needs to break through to finally become credible challengers. "I don't like saying this, but I genuinely think it's a time for a change at the top end," Wright told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast."Gregor's been here a long time and he's changed and he's made the team play some great, exciting rugby. "But ultimately he's not had any real success in the Six Nations or the World Cups - out twice before the knockout stages, although we've had two really tough groups."It's one thing about changing the style and being exciting and good to watch, but ultimately we want to try and be competing at the top end."Are we delusional to think that we're actually good enough to compete at the top end? I would say with this group of players, we should be."I think Gregor's a really good coach, and I think the guys he's got round about him are good guys, but maybe it's just a new voice that's needed." Townsend 'more encouraged by this year' Townsend admits Scotland fell short of their own expectations in the Six Nations, this season but believes this side is still moving in the right direction."I felt we were building towards our best tournament this year," he told BBC Scotland. "We came very close last year to finishing in the top two. "This year, having the display against South Africa, then the win against Australia, leading into the tournament, we all felt confident this would be a better tournament. But it didn't happen."We're up against quality sides. I don't think any team delivers their best performance over the five games - there was no Grand Slam again this year."I've actually been more encouraged this year by how we played than I was last year. "The mix of our carrying, our defence and the speed we play through the back line, it gives me a lot of optimism for the future. But it wasn't to be this season." Have your say What do you make of what Townsend and Wright have to say? Should the head coach go again? Or it is time for a change? Let us know here, external
BBC News
12-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Careful what you wish for' - Beattie warns Townsend critics
Scotland fans calling for Gregor Townsend to be replaced as national head coach have been warned the grass is not always greener by former international Johnnie has come in for criticism after Scotland fell to an 11th straight loss at the hands of Ireland, severely denting their Six Nations title has called for some perspective after the defeat to the number two ranked side in the world, and says Townsend's record in his seven-and-a-half years in charge stands alongside that of any head coach in the nation's history."What we've had under Gregor has been fun rugby," Beattie told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast."It hasn't always been winning rugby, but it's entertaining. We score tries, we're more creative than we've ever been."We've beaten France, we've beaten England, we've beaten Australia, we've beaten Wales, away from home, things that my side never did."What would people rather have? Would you rather have, as a Scottish rugby public, (England coach) Steve Borthwick? Would you rather have that type of rugby? Would you rather have Warren Gatland and what he's producing right now with Wales?" Some feel after Townsend's eighth Six Nations in charge it will be time for a change, but Beattie says given the lack of player depth in Scotland, the national team has punched above its weight on Townsend's the bruising defeat by Ireland at Murrayfield, Beattie insists a change would not necessarily lead to an upturn in fortunes."Gregor actually, over his tenure, has gotten quite a lot, probably more than most other coaches," he added. "And I think his win percentage is better than most other Scottish coaches historically."So people have incredibly short memories. I know the weekend was horrible to watch. Gregor actually doesn't have a big player pool, doesn't have a bunch of physical animals."We'll always be on an uphill battle with the numbers, we have a really shallow pool of talent."And I think, actually, he's gotten a lot out of the players that we have over the past five, six, seven seasons. So it's disappointing, but be careful what you wish for."
BBC News
29-01-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'New Scottish Rugby CEO strikes different tone'
Alex Williamson did not seek out Mark Dodson for advice before taking on the job as Scottish Rugby's new chief executive, but he seems to have learned some lessons from his predecessor, such as not coming out the gate with eye-catching statements of after taking charge in 2011, Dodson set out a four-year strategy that included winning a Six Nations Grand Slam and the Rugby World on first impressions, is a character in stark contrast to the bullish Dodson. In his first session with the media he was keen to lay out an ambitious plan for the union, minus the any proclamations of world domination."I think we can be highly influential on the international stage," Williamson said on the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast."We can be very competitive from a playing perspective. I think our pathways can be good. And we can be outstanding at delivering the on-day experience, whether that be men's, women's, young players, or for just entertainment purposes."And if you can get all of those together, why can't you be the leading union? It doesn't mean you're necessarily winning the World Cup, but it does mean that you're recognised around the world as being absolutely top-drawer at what you do. And that's kind of what I'm after." Williamson describes himself "relatively low ego" and confirmed his pay packet will be lower than the exorbitant salary and bonuses pocketed by his predecessor that so infuriated Scottish rugby been in the job just over a week, the CEO is still getting is feet under the table, but knows the big challenges awaiting in his Murrayfield is high on the list. Whether that is transforming the stadium and campus for sporting and cultural events to grow revenue, or simply sorting the more mundane and urgent priorities like fixing the all comes at a cost, and for a union that posted a £11.3m loss in their last set of published accounts, it is a challenge."We're not going to be able to do Murrayfield in one [go]. But sensible levels, as in fix stuff that doesn't work, and drive things that are going to improve our revenues, that's all do-able," Williamson the business side of the operation is what Williamson has brought in to do, but what fans want to see is successful clubs and national strong sense is that performance director David Nucifora – "the big brain rugby IP that Scottish rugby needs", as Williamson describes him – has been given the keys to the entire rugby operation and the big decisions relating to on-field matters will rest with Murrayfield, financing the national sides and pro teams, diverting resources to the pathway, all against a brutally tough financial backdrop – Williamson has a big job on his hands.
