Gary Heatly in Bristol
Evie Wills says that Scotland are “raring to go and ready” for the big England clash this Sunday.
The sides will meet at Bristol’s Ashton Gate ground in the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after finishing second in Pool B and first in Pool A respectively.
The Scots are massive underdogs heading into the last eight clash against the world number one and tournament favourites.
“England are a team that we know well,” Wills, the playmaker who came on as a replacement versus Canada last weekend for her World Cup debut in her second time at a big dance, said.
“We play them every single year in the Six Nations, so we know them well. It will be no mean feat to do anything against them and compete with them, but we’ve just played second in the world Canada [losing 40-19 in the end in Exeter] and gone toe-to-toe with them so why can’t we do that with the team that are first in the world?
“We are now in a tough week of training leading up to that and it will be a tough 80 minutes on Sunday, but we’re so raring to go and ready.
“I don’t think we need to change a lot. I think the Canada performance was something we can be proud of.
“There are some bits, yes, that we need to focus on and change, but they are similar beasts. Canada and England both like to play very fast and very physical, so I think we just focus on us, fix up our fix-ups in the coming days and just go from there.”
Wills, a Stirling County product who is now with Sale Sharks, won international cap number seven last weekend when the 24-year-old entered the fray off the bench early on as an HIA sub for stand-off Helen Nelson and then later in the game in Exeter as a permanent change.
“I was on for just shy of 10 minutes in the first half and it was the first time I’ve ever been in a game when I’ve had to come on for a wee bit then come off,” she stated.
“Do you know what? It’s actually quite nice. You get a feel for it, come off and you think ‘OK, when I go back on I kind of know what we want to do and how it feels on that pitch’.
“I think my thing when I came back on later was to bring energy, that was my mentality. When you want to come off the bench, you need physicality and you need energy because that’s when the girls need it.”
Sunday’s quarter-final could be head coach Bryan Easson’s last game in charge as he will be stepping away from the role after the tournament.
His impending departure gives the players extra incentive to try and cause a massive shock against the Red Roses and Wills stated: “We’ve always said we’re playing for each other. I know the girls would run through brick walls and go to absolute hell for me, and I know I would do the same for them.
“And Bryan is well and truly within that group. He is phenomenal and, yeah, we’ll be absolutely playing our hearts out for him because he has gone above and beyond as a coach and as a mentor and as a role model for us. So, anything we can do to credit his efforts and his career, we absolutely will.”
Scotland Women’s Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards: Leah Bartlett, Christine Belisle, Becky Boyd, Sarah Bonar, Lisa Cockburn, Eva Donaldson, Evie Gallagher, Adelle Ferrie, Jade Konkel, Rachel Malcolm (C), Elis Martin, Rachel McLachlan, Molly Poolman, Lana Skeldon, Alex Stewart, Emma Wassell, Molly Wright, Anne Young.
Backs: Leia Brebner-Holden, Beth Blacklock, Rhea Clarke, Coreen Grant, Rhona Lloyd, Caity Mattinson, Francesca McGhie, Helen Nelson, Emma Orr, Hannah Ramsay, Chloe Rollie, Lisa Thomson, Hannah Walker, Evie Wills.
Evie Wills is pictured in action versus Canada – thanks to Ruby Adam Photography
From August 7 until September 30, GH Media will be following the Scotland World Cup journey all of the way. We will be at all of the Scotland matches down south and will be bringing you all of the interviews and news from camp as well as taking a wider look at the tournament as a whole and its impact on the women’s game. Thanks to Quirky Chocolate and other supporters for allowing this content to happen and to readers for engaging with it.
