Gary Heatly in Manchester
Scotland blew Wales away in their Women’s Rugby World Cup opener on Saturday – and the good news is that star player Francesca McGhie believes the team has just scratched the surface of their potential.
The Scots put in a full 80-minute performance with no let up to defeat their old rivals 38-8 at the Salford Community Stadium in Manchester.
The result now makes them 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.
And despite the team running in six tries against the shellshocked Welsh in this emphatic bonus point triumph, hat-trick try scorer McGhie feels the squad can perform even better moving forward.
The 22-year-old winger who was named player of the match said: “I think we can get even better than this than this.
“It wasn’t a perfect performance and we have stuff to improve on and we are looking forward to learning and working hard on things this week in training ahead of Fiji.
“Obviously scoring six tries and playing the way we did was a great performance and we are all really happy and we now have momentum, but we are confident as a group and we also know that we still have lots more in us which is exciting.”
McGhie, who now has 13 tries in 23 Tests and will be playing her club rugby in England for Trailfinders Women after this tournament, reveals that she had a feeling in the changing room pre-match that the Scots were going to fire from the off.
She set the tone with a try inside a minute and she explained: “I think as a team we just knew from the second we got into the changing rooms and put the jerseys on that it was going to be a good day for us.
“We really felt good, we knew exactly what we needed to do and we absolutely delivered on that.
“The reception we had from the travelling Scottish fans was unreal as the team bus entered the ground and that just made us even more focused to get the result that we all wanted.
“I am very proud of scoring a hat-trick and to do it in a World Cup game, my first, was a bit of a dream moment, but my team mates worked hard to create those tries and must take some of the credit.”
Two tries from 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 against Wales.
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.
Scotland Women’s Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards: Leah Bartlett, Becky Boyd, Sarah Bonar, Elliann Clarke, 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.
Francesca McGhie is pictured versus Wales – thanks to World 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.