Scotland head coach Bryan Easson says that, from his perspective, the door is not closed on the international rugby careers of Louise McMillan and Christine Belisle or any other players not currently in camp.
Easson named a 38-strong extended training squad recently and the names of 58-capper McMillan and 41-capper Belisle were not on the list along with the likes of fellow 2022 World Cup squad members Mairi McDonald, Liz Musgrove and Shona Campbell as well as second-row Fi McIntosh and experienced scrum-half Jenny Maxwell.
With 32 from the 38 set to go to the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England in August and September, their chances of making it to the big dance may appear slim and, since the wider squad was named, both McMillan, 27, and 31-year-old Belisle have posted statements on social media.
Second-row/back-row McMillan’s statement that she penned seemed to suggest she would be available if a Scotland recall ever comes, but that she did not envisage that – “I hope this isn’t the end, but I’m also self-aware to read the writing on the wall”.
And tighthead prop Belise, who left the squad after the aforementioned Wales game in the Six Nations for personal reasons, seemed to end her Scotland career in her statement – “my heart is heavy that it’s over”.
However, Easson said on Wednesday that, as far as he is concerned, they are both still on Scotland’s standby list of players should there be injuries and the like over the next couple of months.
“They were both spoken to post-selection to say they were on standby,” the head coach said at Scottish Gas Murrayfield on the day a big announcement was made.
And asked if, in the light of their statements, it was still the case that they are on standby he added: “Yes, because I’ve not had a conversation with them since that. It’s up to an individual how they want to portray their feelings and how they want to put it across.
“We [as a coaching and management team] will continue to give clarity around why selections are made and we continue to make it really clear that it’s based on performance.
“We’ve got to win for Scotland and that’s ultimately what we are aiming to do, but the door was open for both players. It was never closed and it never would be closed for any player unless they decide that they want to step away.
“We have the same conversations with any player that’s been left out of the squad. I think it’s important and we’re very clear around why selections are made and what we do around selection. Once we make a squad selection, any player that’s not in, I’ll contact them myself. I’ll have individual conversations and that’s how we will continue.
“I think it’s really important that players hear from the people that are making decisions and that’s how we’ll continue in the future. It’s never easy making selections and the growth of the game is making that tougher all the time.
“When you make a selection of 38 players but you are leaving out players who have played a lot of caps for Scotland, it shows where we have come from and where we’re going to. You’ve got a depth chart that’s probably deeper than it’s ever been before, which then ultimately means you have to make decisions.
“My job is to win games for Scotland, the job of the management team is to win games for Scotland, so there is nothing other than performance selections made and it becomes difficult.
“Performances are looked at very closely and ultimately that’s how we will keep growing the game. It allows us to perform well at Rugby World Cups. Our target is, and we’re not shy about it, to get to the knock-out stages of the upcoming World Cup.
“We have to pick a squad that we believe is right at the time and that will be something that we’ll keep pushing. It’s hard, selections are hard. Selections are hard for coaches and management to make but it’s also very difficult for players to accept sometimes.
“If a player is performing better than somebody else they will be picked.”
The 38-strong squad are currently in week one of their pre-World Cup training camps in Edinburgh.
- Easson has given some clarity over the current Scottish Rugby contracted players situation.
“The 38 players [in the current squad] are contracted until the end of October [the World Cup finishes on September 27], so it allows them that time,” he explained.
“But then it’s individual contracts, so we’re having individual discussions at the moment around contract moving forward, but they are contracted until the end of October.”
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Scotland head coach Bryan Easson is pictured
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