Gary Heatly in Manchester
Every Scottish rugby fan will still be smiling today after the team’s excellent 38-8 win over Wales in the Women’s Rugby World Cup Pool B opener versus Wales on Saturday.
Two tries from player of the match Francesca McGhie along with one from scrum-half Leia Brebner-Holden and a conversion from stand-off Helen Nelson had Scotland 17-8 up at the interval at Salford Community Stadium in Manchester.
Winger McGhie’s hat-trick try, converted by Nelson, soon after half-time gave Scotland the four-try bonus point and some breathing space and then converted tries from No.8 Evie Gallagher and centre Emma Orr put the seal on a glorious day for the national team.
A match report can be found here and here are five talking points…
Flying start
It sounds obvious, but a good start in any rugby match is key. Scotland have not always got out of the blocks well, but here they were ‘on it’ from the first minute and they scored a very early try through McGhie which settled them down and set the tone for the afternoon.
Key defensive set just before half-time
Scotland were looking relatively comfortable at 17-8 up heading towards the break, but if Wales had scored a try in the closing moments of the first half and made it 17-13 or 17-15 things would have been a lot different. Scotland’s watertight defence at that time was vitally important.
McGhie’s hat-trick try just after the break the clincher
Given the effort Wales had put in just before half-time to try and close the gap on Scotland for them to see that gap widen just a few minutes into the second half would have knocked the wind out of their sails. The fourth try by Scotland made it 24-8 and the game was in the bag from that moment.
Miller and Shingler must take great credit
Forwards coach Ross Miller and attack coach Steven Shingler only joined the Scotland coaching team alongside Bryan Easson and Tyrone Holmes at the start of the summer, but you can see the mark they have made on the team in their areas of expertise already with plenty to build on.
Scotland were brave, bold and had belief – now let’s kick on!
In big matches and at big tournaments you cannot go into your shell or play within yourself or things will pass you by. You have to be brave, bold and have belief and Scotland had all of those qualities in abundance versus Wales. Now they have momentum and can kick on from here.
What’s to come…
The result now makes Scotland favourites to progress to the quarter-finals from Pool B behind likely group winners Canada. That would mean a probable knock-out tie with world number one side England on September 14.
However, there is a lot of rugby to be played before then and next up is Fiji this coming Saturday in Manchester before a meeting with world number two Canada in Exeter on September 6.
On Sunday there were World Cup wins for Ireland, South Africa and reigning champions New Zealand.
Teams:
Scotland: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Francesca McGhie; Helen Nelson, Leia Brebner-Holden; Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon, Elliann Clarke, Emma Wassell, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (C), Rachel McLachlan, Evie Gallagher. Subs: Elis Martin, Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Jade Konkel, Eva Donaldson, Alex Stewart, Caity Mattinson, Beth Blacklock.
Wales: Nel Metcalfe; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Dallavalle, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Donna Rose, Alaw Pyrs, Gwen Crabb, Kate Williams (C-C), Bethan Lewis, Alex Callender (C-C). Subs: Carys Phillips, Maisie Davies, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Seren Lockwood, Kayleigh Powell, Carys Cox.
Scorers:
Scotland: Tries: McGhie 3, Brebner-Holden, Gallagher, Orr. Conversions: Nelson 4.
Wales: Try: Callender. Penalty: Bevan.
Yellow card: Crabb (Wales).
Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr.
Player of the match: Francesca McGhie (Scotland).
Molly Wright and Emma Wassell celebrating the win over Wales – thanks to Scottish Rugby
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.