Gary Heatly in Bristol
Scotland full-back Chloe Rollie is loving playing in the “amazing” backline at the minute as the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final with England approaches on Sunday.
Rollie, the 30-year-old who earned her 80th cap for her country against Canada last weekend and is just the fifth player to reach that milestone, and the rest of the backs have been on top form in the tournament so far.
She may not have added to her impressive tally of 26 tries, but out of the 14 tries that the team scored in the pool stages in three games 12 of them were by the backs. Leia Brebner-Holden, Helen Nelson, Francesca McGhie, Lisa Thomson, Emma Orr, Rhona Lloyd and Rollie have started all three games in jerseys 9-15.
“It’s been amazing,” Rollie said.
“I think our backs in general have played really, really well. We’ve managed to ship the ball wide, we’ve managed to actually unlock our backs.
“I think we’ve had potential for years now, at times before we’ve just not figured out how to unlock that in us and how to use our players to our advantage. I think that’s definitely what we’re doing now.
“We’ve spotted how we can really use the fast players like Francesca McGhie and Rhona Lloyd to get the results that we want. We need to get the ball wide and let them use their strengths and their superpowers to get us over that line.”
The Scots are massive underdogs heading into the last eight clash against the world number one and tournament favourites England at Bristol’s Ashton Gate ground.
Asked what makes the English so dangerous, Rollie said: “I think you can never switch off.
“I think you’ll get caught out if you do switch off, even for a split second, against them.
“They’re strong, they’re powerful and they will take every opportunity that they get.
“So, I think we just need to fully stay switched on for the full 80-85 minutes, whatever it takes, and front up to them.
“We will also focus on how we can get that emotional side up to help us.
“It doesn’t take much to be fair when we are playing England in such a big game as this, but we want to see how we can best get ourselves riled up and just remember that they English team just rugby players like the rest of us.
“Anyone can beat anyone on the day, it’s possible.
“We’re going to have to dig really deep. We’ve had some really good performances so far in the competition and we need to take confidence from that and dig deep and play the way that we want to play. We have to have each other’s backs and go into every part of the game as a collective, as a strong unit.
“And we have to have belief and confidence in what we’re doing.
“We will get moment in the game where we’re on top and we have to be clinical then and go with that momentum and build on it. We cannot let them dictate the game and just sit back and soak things up, we also have to try and impose our game on things and give it everything we have got.”
The Scotland matchday 23 to face England is due to be named on Friday afternoon.
Scotland Women’s Rugby World Cup squad
Forwards: Leah Bartlett, Christine Belisle, Becky Boyd, Sarah Bonar, 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.
Chloe Rollie is pictured after the Canada game – thanks to Ruby Adam Photography
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.