Winning a trophy once is reason to celebrate in Scottish sport for sure – winning it a second time would be a real statement.
That is what the Scotland squad are aiming to do on Saturday afternoon in Cape Town when they take on Australia in terms of the WXV 2 trophy.
Winning the inaugural competition last year gave confidence a real boost and things have gone on from there and the team are now number five in the world, an all-time high.
Performances in the wins over Italy and Japan over the last fortnight perhaps have not hit the heights, but they have given the Scots a chance to be holding silverware again come Saturday evening if they get a positive result and South Africa, who are playing Italy, do not get a brilliant result and come into the title mix.
Hooker Lana Skeldon with 73 caps is the highest capped current player and she is focused ahead of the big clash with the Wallaroos.
“I never, ever thought I’d be in a position to win a trophy back-to-back so it’s almost a bit surreal to me, but it’s something that would just be incredible,” the Hawick native who plays for Bristol Bears said.
“It would probably be one of the highlights of my career if we could do it. Obviously, it would be a bit of history for us to set down again and this squad has been doing a lot of firsts in recent times. This would be another one for us so it’s something we’re really passionate about and we’re incredibly motivated to get our hands on that trophy again.
“The pressure on us is different now, but it is what motivates you to be a better player and a better team as well. We want to front up in these situations and show that we can deal with the pressure.
“We’re used to being underdogs, but obviously because we won this last year, we’re here to win it again so it’s a different type of pressure that we’re having to deal with. It’s something that is motivating us and has motivated us over the last few games.”
As well as the team improving of late, they have won 12 of 15 Tests, the 30-year-old front-row also believes she has got better as an individual since the team last played WXV 2 standings leaders Australia in 2022.
“I think my rugby has improved since that World Cup,” she stated.
“I have more confidence in what my strengths are and having been at Bristol for the last year and being in and amongst some of the best players in the world it has just pushed me on more.
“As a person I feel like I’m way more resilient now and better under pressure than I was then just from the experiences we’ve had over the last couple of years.
“As an individual I’ve grown a lot, but I think that’s also part of being a part of this squad too. We’ve grown so much and we’ve been through so much I think it pushes individuals to be better as themselves and as part of that unit.”
The Scotland-Australia game is at 4pm UK time on Saturday at the Athlone Sports Stadium and live on BBC iPlayer and RugbyPass TV
Scotland women’s matchday squad for the WXV 2 clash with Australia
15 Chloe Rollie (Ealing Trailfinders) (69)
14 Coreen Grant (Saracens) (13)
13 Emma Orr (Bristol Bears) (23)
12 Lisa Thomson (Ealing Trailfinders) (63)
11 Francesca McGhie (Leicester Tigers) (16)
10 Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning) (64)
9 Leia Brebner-Holden (Gloucester-Hartpury/Cheltenham Tigers) (4)
1 Leah Bartlett (Leicester Tigers) (37)
2 Lana Skelson (Bristol Bears) (73)
3 Elliann Clarke (Bristol Bears) (14)
4 Eva Donaldson (Leicester Tigers) (14)
5 Sarah Bonar (Harlequins) (41)
6 Rachel Malcolm (Loughborough Lightning, C) (51)
7 Rachel McLachlan (Montpellier) (45)
8 Evie Gallagher (Bristol Bears) (31)
Subs
16 Elis Martin (Loughborough Lightning) (14)
17 Anne Young (Loughborough Lightning) (14)
18 Christine Belisle (Loughborough Lightning) (39)
19 Louise McMillan (Saracens) (57)
20 Jade Konkel (Harlequins) (65)
21 Caity Mattinson (Ealing Trailfinders) (26)
22 Meryl Smith (Bristol Bears) (21)
23 Lucia Scott (Hartpury University/Gloucester Hartpury) (3)
Lana Skeldon is pictured at training this week, thanks to Scottish Rugby
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