Rachel Malcolm and her charges have shown amazing character and resilience since April 2023 to win nine of their last 12 Tests – and another Scottish female who has shown exactly the same qualities in spades will be a special guest at Hive Stadium on Saturday.
Taylor Winyard, who is from Peebles and has always enjoyed watching rugby, was part of the Atlantic Nomads team that rowed across the Atlantic Ocean alongside Tom Rose and James Woolley from late 2021 into early 2022.
They did it in 40 days and 37 minutes and, in the process, set a new world record for a mixed trio on this route.
Then just a few months ago, Winyard teamed up with Charlotte Irving and Jessica Goddard to attempt to smash the previous world record for crossing the mid-Pacific.
They managed it in in just over 38 days which was two days inside the previous women’s record and 15 hours faster than the male record.
Winyard is now back on dry land and back in the ‘real world’ working for her family business at Stobo Castle Health Spa in the Borders, but she will be off duty on Saturday and will have the honour of delivering the match ball ahead of the Scotland-Fiji Vodafone Series Test.
It will be a special moment for Winyard, 32, and she said: “My flat mate works for Scottish Rugby so when someone got in touch to ask if I would like to deliver the match ball I was convinced she must have had something to do with it.
“She said she didn’t so I got straight on the phone to Rachel Malcolm, but she had no idea what I was talking about. She’s one of my best friends so it’s going to be a really special moment and I just feel so honoured to be asked.
“I was there when Jasmin Paris [who become the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons earlier this year] delivered the match ball at the France match. What Jasmin achieved was absolutely phenomenal. I’m a huge advocate for women’s sport and especially if they’re Scottish!
“I’ve got to know a number of the Scotland rugby girls as good friends and try to go to as many matches as I can. I am their biggest fan and so proud of what they have achieved. I am so excited to see how far the team will go over the next few years.
“Like rugby, in ocean rowing teamwork is everything. You put your body on the line for each other and need to trust one another completely. The squad, led by Rachel, are such incredible role models to so many young girls and boys. It’s amazing to see all of the fans at the games and the crowds that line the walkway into the Hive Stadium.”
Between 2014 and 2019 Winyard was living in Nottingham as part of the British Canoeing Girls4Gold and Olympic Development Programme for Sprint Kayaking and it was during that stint that she first met some of the Scotland rugby players.
“I met Rachel who was playing for Lichfield at the time and through her I then met Sarah Bonar and Jenny Maxwell. Scots get drawn to Scots,” Winyard explained.
“Since then, it’s been so lovely to also get to know Rhona Lloyd, Emma Wassell, Helen Nelson and Lisa Thomson through the girls. They’re all incredible athletes and smashing it.”
Talking of ‘smashing it’ and Winyard herself certainly did that during her two challenges over recent times.
“When I hung up my paddles and moved back to Scotland in 2019, I had kind of fallen out of love with competitive sport,” Winyard continued.
“Within a week of moving back to Scotland I decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and I think I was trying to prove a point to myself while also enjoying pushing myself and enjoying exercise again.
“That was the first taste of adventure and extreme endurance and, having been following the Atlantic race from afar for years, in 2021 an opportunity came up to join a team.
“It was to take on the Atlantic Challenge in 2021 into 2022 and I thought ‘why not’. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I wanted to push myself like never before.
“Just like in rugby, there were nerves and huge highs and lows out there, but we made it and to set a new world record was just amazing.
“We had such an incredible row and it had gone pretty much to plan so after that I thought ‘that’s me done, I am never stepping on an ocean rowing boat again’, but then Charlotte and Jess who had been in different crews during our Atlantic race reached out to me in 2023.
“They put forward the idea of the three of us coming together to cross the mid-Pacific in 2024 – and the rest is history.
“I definitely have the bug for adventure and love a challenge and the Pacific felt like the next level. It was such a rollercoaster of a journey, but what a journey it was. I actually spoke to Rach and Bons on the satellite phone out there – I can’t remember much of our conversation, but it was so lovely to hear their voices.
“As it only took place this summer I am still trying to process it all. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but both rows have helped to give me a different perspective on life. I appreciate the little things so much more than before. Ocean rowing has definitely broadened my horizon and has reset my bar to what I know I can go through both physically and mentally.”
Here’s hoping Winyard makes great memories this Saturday at the Hive too and gets the reception she deserves from the crowd while a Scotland win would be the icing on the cake.
Scotland women’s squad for the Vodafone Series and WXV 2 (uncapped in bold plus Louise McMillan (Saracens) in for the Vodafone Series)
Forwards
Leah Bartlett (Leicester Tigers)
Christine Belisle (Loughborough Lightning)
Sarah Bonar (Harlequins)
Elliann Clarke (Bristol Bears)
Lisa Cockburn (Gloucester Hartpury)
Eva Donaldson (Leicester Tigers)
Evie Gallagher (Bristol Bears)
Jade Konkel (Harlequins)
Rachel Malcolm (Loughborough Lightning)
Elis Martin (Loughborough Lightning)
Fiona McIntosh (Saracens)
Rachel McLachlan (Montpellier)
Lana Skeldon (Bristol Bears)
Aila Ronald (University of Edinburgh)
Alex Stewart (Corstorphine Cougars)
Emma Wassell (Loughborough Lightning)
Anne Young (Loughborough Lightning)
Backs
Leia Brebner-Holden (Gloucester-Hartpury/Cheltenham Tigers)
Coreen Grant (Saracens)
Caity Mattinson (Ealing Trailfinders)
Mairi McDonald (Exeter Chiefs)
Francesca McGhie (Leicester Tigers)
Rhona Lloyd (GB 7s/ Stade Bordelais)
Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning)
Emma Orr (Bristol Bears)
Rachel Philipps (Sale Sharks)
Lisa Thomson (GB 7s/Ealing Trailfinders)
Chloe Rollie (Ealing Trailfinders)
Lucia Scott (Hartpury University/Gloucester Hartpury)
Meryl Smith (Bristol Bears)
Thanks to Taylor Winyard for the images
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