Scotland head coach Bryan Easson has spoken for the first time since tighthead prop Christine Belisle left the Guinness Women’s Six Nations squad.
On April 1, the 31-year-old with 41 caps said she was “hanging up my boots for the rest of this campaign and putting my brain and family time first”.
“CB has been an integral part of the group for a long time,” Easson said while speaking about his squad to face Italy on Sunday in the round three clash at Hive Stadium.
“We had a discussion post-Wales around performance as it was really important that she knew what she needed to do from a performance point of view to get back into the team.
“She has, however, been struggling away from the game and after that post-Wales discussion around performance stuff we then also discussed things away from the sport itself and, off the back of that, she has made a decision for her that the right thing for her just now is to clear her head and get her head in the right place.
“We respect that decision, she has got some very good support staff and support networks around her here [within the Scotland camp] who she is working with and we just wish her well around everything that she has got going on off the field.”
Scotland squad to play Italy: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Francesca McGhie; Helen Nelson, Leia Brebner-Holden; Anne Young, Lana Skeldon, Elliann Clarke, Becky Boyd, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (C), Rachel McLachlan, Evie Gallagher. Subs: Elis Martin, Leah Bartlett, Molly Poolman, Adelle Ferrie, Alex Stewart, Jade Konkel, Caity Mattinson, Lucia Scott.
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations runs from March 22 to April 26 and, next up, Scotland are at Hive Stadium in round three versus Italy on April 13 – get tickets for the two Scotland remaining home games here.
Christine Belisle is pictured playing in the recent Wales match
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