THE SUNDAY HERALD REPORTS


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After a frustrating lay-off, a much-changed international side are finally ready for a return to competitive action, writes Alasdair Reid.
BY ALASDAIR REID

Almost 16 years have passed since Scotland's women took their first, tentative steps into the world of Test rugby with a 10-0 victory over Ireland at Raeburn Place in February 1993, a span of time marked by more than 110 international matches and a growing acceptance across the sport as a whole that rugby's distaff side is as valid as anything else that has been woven into the game's rich tapestry down the years.
Long gone, then, are the days when Dr Johnson's dismissal of a woman's preaching - it is not done well, but you are surprised to find it done at all - could be applied to women playing rugby as well. Granted, there was an alarming lack of basic skills about the women's game in those early years, but Scotland's players, coaches and administrators have been holding down the fast-forward button for a decade-and-a-half now, their commitment and enthusiasm making light of the 100-year head-start that men had previously enjoyed.

Today, the elite level of women's rugby is amateur only in the strict sense of being played for love rather than money, for it is practised and prepared for with a rigour and selflessness that would embarrass many in the professional game. When the Scottish women's team take the field against Sweden at Meggetland on Saturday, the occasion will mark the conclusion of a long programme of gruelling training and the start of a process which they hope will put them back among the top rank of European nations.

Scotland's women probably kicked above their weight in the early, pioneering years, but the World Cup of 2006 where they finished sixth, marked a watershed in their progress. Some stalwart players chose to retire after the tournament, a couple of others treated themselves to sabbaticals, and there were far-reaching changes in the coaching and management of the team. The price was paid in the following year's Six Nations championship, when their sole success was a 26-6 victory over Italy, and in the whitewash they suffered in the 2008 tournament.

"The problem after 2006 was that we had had a group of players who had been together for a long time," says Heather Lockhart, who is expected to take her customary place at loosehead prop in the side which faces Sweden next weekend. "The year after was def-initely a transition period, and there was still a bit of that going on last year as well.

"But we did well to finish fifth at the European championships in Holland last year and we've been putting in a good shift since. The girls have another year's experience under their belts and they're really ready for the next level now.

"As well as that we've got a couple of players, Susie Brown and Lucy Millard, coming back into the side after taking some time away from the game, and they both bring a lot of experience to the side."

At 36, Lockhart is one of the squad's senior members, but she was a relative latecomer to the Test arena having made her international debut only four years ago. Lockhart's early interest was fostered by her brothers' involvement in rugby and she first played the game at university. She took time out to pursue other interests, but made up for lost time when she returned to the sport. Playing for Hillhead/Jordanhill, last year she was named Scotland Women's Player of the Season.

If her career path has been untyp-ical in some regards, Lockhart has been around the women's game long enough to appreciate its development from a rather left-field activity that was largely confined to universities to being such a part of the rugby mainstream that its importance is now recognised in the SRU's governance structure. Yet what happens in the Murrayfield corridors of power is only a reflection of what is going on in clubs and schools across the country.

"It's growing all the time, which is pretty satisfying," she says. "There are more clubs, more juniors, more people taking an interest and coming to the game from all sorts of backgrounds. It's all very positive in fact.

"It used to be the case that girls took up the game when they were 18 or 19, but a lot of them now get a taste of rugby at school and there has definitely been a big increase in the number of players coming through that way. The 12 to 18-year-old age group is getting better all the time and that has to be a good thing for the sport's development. Of course, we do still get a lot of people taking it up at university level, too, often coming to the game from other sports."

Scotland's last outing was a 27-25 victory over Spain in last May's European championships, a tournament in which they had earlier lost to Wales and beaten Holland. They had been due to play Kazakhstan in November, but the fixture was cancelled at the last minute, apparently on account of financial problems causing travel difficulties for their opponents. Having built themselves up for that match, they have been kicking their heels for the past two months, impatient to get back into action again.

"It was very frustrating," says Jamie Dempsey, the former SRU performance development manager, who took over as head coach last year and who is also assistant coach to Peter Wright at Glasgow Hawks.

"It has also been a real challenge as you tend to build yourselves up for these key dates. We had to adjust to the new date and make sure that we maintained form and fitness for the Sweden game. The positive thing is that we've had more preparation time now and more opportunities to fine-tune some aspects of our game.

"The wooden spoon last season was very disappointing, but I think we've moved on a long way from that. Some of our play last year was very one-dimensional, so the focus has been on trying to vary our game a lot more. The aim is to have an all-round game, where we can change how we play depending on who we're playing against."

Sweden only earned a place at last year's European championships after Italy withdrew from the tournament. They subsequently finished last of the eight competing sides, failing to recover from the 80-3 hammering they suffered at the hands of England in their opening match. However, they did beat both Italy and Wales in the previous year's event, making it all the more difficult for Scotland to know what kind of side they will face next weekend.

In the Scots' favour, they have never lost to Sweden, their 100% record over six matches having seen them accum-ulate a total of 230 points, with only 11 scored against. On that record, and the fact the Swedes lost to lowly Germany in their most recent outing, Scotland should be expected to win comfortably.

"After the frustration of having our last game cancelled, we all just want to get going again," says Lockhart. "It's massive for us and the girls have all worked really hard for it in training. Over the Christmas period there has been midweek training, weekend training, individual training. With Six Nations starting next month, we're really determined to get off to a winning start."




Scotland Women have appointed a new forwards coach as preparations for the 6 Nations campaign begin with a test match against Sweden (Saturday 10 January, Meggetland, kick-off 12noon).
Former Melrose and Scotland A prop, Millan Browne, will oversee the forwards’ coaching duties focusing on player strength, conditioning and the set piece, as the players gear up for their first test under head coach Jamie Dempsey – following the cancellation of the Autumn Test match against Kazakhstan.
After seeing the Swedes in action against England and Spain in the FIRA Championship, Dempsey has been working to develop the squad’s physicality to counteract the athleticism of teams like the visiting Scandinavians.
He said: “We’ve been working hard for five or six months now given that we were preparing for the Kazakhstan game in November so really it’s been about maintaining the focus of the squad on our goals of improving our playing style and physical conditioning.
“A positive from the cancellation is that we have had more time do that. The condition of the players has improved across the board, particularly in our front five so hopefully we’ll see results of that on the park.”
Despite being ranked three places above the eigth-placed Swedes in Europe, Dempsey refused to see this match as a chance to test fringe players on the international stage.
“It would be nice to see this as a development game in the run-in to the 6 Nations but at international level it’s win at all costs. It’s up to us to continually develop as a team.
“We have to give Sweden the respect they deserve but the most important aspect of our development is that we keep winning games.”
The Sweden match will be the side’s last international test before the 2009 6 Nations Championship which begins against Wales in February.

SCOTLAND SQUAD TO FACE SWEDEN ON SATURDAY 10 JANUARY, MEGGETLAND, KICK-OFF 12NOON:
FORWARDS
Ellen Beattie (Murrayfield Wanderers), Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers), Heather Lockhart (Hillhead / Jordan Hill), Alison MacDonald (Royal High Corstorphine), Sarah Louise Walker (Watsonians), Joy Lyth (Lismore), Natalya Marcholla (Stirling County), Lynsey Wheeler (Blaydon / Team Northumbria), Louise Moffat (Kirkcaldy), Lynn Reid CAPTAIN (Royal High Corstorphine), Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers), Keri Holdsworth (Watsonians), Susie Brown (Hillhead / Jordanhill)

BACKS
Louise Dalgliesh (Royal High Corstorphine), Erin Kerr (Richmond), Laura Steven (Murrayfield Wanderers), Suzi Newton (Blaydon / Team Northumbria), Lucy Millard VICE CAPTAIN (Murrayfield Wanderers), Ronnie Fitzpatrick (Royal High Corstorphine), Vik Blakebrough, Cara D'Silva (Royal High Corstorphine), Lynsey Douglas (Richmond)

This article was originally posted on 4-Jan-2009, 18:28 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 4-Jan-2009, 18:43.