Soon after Matt Banahan joined the Scotland coaching team around a year ago, head coach Bryan Easson branded him an “excitable little puppy” such was his energy and enthusiasm.
Neither of those traits have left the former England men’s internationalist in that time and, indeed, he may be even more excited now because he believes there is a lot more to come from a Scotland squad that has won seven Tests out of 10 since he came on board and nine out of 12 in total.
Ahead of Saturday’s Vodafone Series match with Fiji at Hive Stadium the assistant coach said: “I just wanted to coach a group of players that wanted to get better.
“I have loved it and we have got better, but we could be really good.
“[The run of positive results] is nothing to do with me, the people that have to take all of the plaudits are the girls themselves.
“They have taken their opportunities at their clubs, in the Celtic Challenge and here with Scotland to expose themselves to different environments to help them get better.
“It is a pathway isn’t it, you want to do well for your club and then move up the levels to international rugby and I think we can see from the young players that are now breaking through that the pathway is working.
“The youngsters who have been in the Celtic Challenge in the last couple of years like Meryl Smith, Elliann Clarke, Emma Orr and others who have then moved down south are pushing themselves and coming on all the time while the younger bunch like Leia Brebner-Holden and Lucia Scott are coming in and also helping push the more experienced players for their places – that will help the squad get better moving forward.
“The mindset within the group is all about pushing things forward all the time.
“When I came into the group last year they had already beaten Italy and Ireland and had started the ball rolling.
“I just came in and tried to put in a bit of detail and clarity around the attack and heading into my second year with the group I feel like we are improving, but the exciting thing is that we have only just scratched the surface.
“What we have been trying to do in terms of attack started to show against Wales and we started to show the opportunities we can create. It is now about really focusing in and taking all of those opportunities because even though we scored 40 points on Friday there were still points that we left out there.
“The girls have been fantastic with me, looking at attacking pictures, learning, being coachable and since I have been in the set up that coachability has shown through in training and then into games.”
And Banahan, 37, says that selection meetings these days take quite some time because of the strength-in-depth there is now.
“It is amazing, genuinely,” the attack and backs coach stated.
“We have players who can play in a number of positions and we now have an embarrassment of riches in the team and in the backline.
“That is fantastic for us, the quality is there and we are now growing a real squad with depth and if you want to take things to the next level that is the thing Scotland as a smaller nation needs.”
The matchday squad to take on Fiji will be confirmed on Thursday.
- Emma Wassell has been withdrawn from Scotland women’s 30-player squad ahead of the upcoming WXV 2 tournament on medical grounds, the second-row having recently been diagnosed with a tumour in her chest.
Louise McMillan will replace here, more details here.
Scotland women’s updated squad for the Vodafone Series and WXV 2 (uncapped in bold)
Forwards
Leah Bartlett (Leicester Tigers)
Christine Belisle (Loughborough Lightning)
Sarah Bonar (Harlequins)
Elliann Clarke (Bristol Bears)
Lisa Cockburn (Gloucester Hartpury)
Eva Donaldson (Leicester Tigers)
Evie Gallagher (Bristol Bears)
Jade Konkel (Harlequins)
Rachel Malcolm (Loughborough Lightning)
Elis Martin (Loughborough Lightning)
Fiona McIntosh (Saracens)
Rachel McLachlan (Montpellier)
Louise McMillan (Saracens)
Lana Skeldon (Bristol Bears)
Aila Ronald (University of Edinburgh)
Alex Stewart (Corstorphine Cougars)
Anne Young (Loughborough Lightning)
Backs
Leia Brebner-Holden (Gloucester-Hartpury/Cheltenham Tigers)
Coreen Grant (Saracens)
Caity Mattinson (Ealing Trailfinders)
Mairi McDonald (Exeter Chiefs)
Francesca McGhie (Leicester Tigers)
Rhona Lloyd (GB 7s/ Stade Bordelais)
Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning)
Emma Orr (Bristol Bears)
Rachel Philipps (Sale Sharks)
Lisa Thomson (GB 7s/Ealing Trailfinders)
Chloe Rollie (Ealing Trailfinders)
Lucia Scott (Hartpury University/Gloucester Hartpury)
Meryl Smith (Bristol Bears)
Matt Banahan is pictured, thanks to Scottish Rugby/SNS
GH Media will be covering Scotland women’s journey right through to Rugby World Cup 2025, bringing insight from within the camp throughout and featuring other parts of the game in this country too – thanks to those already supporting the content, if you or your company would like to get involved please email gary@gh-media.co.uk