Gallagher vows Scotland will play 'completely different rugby' at WXV after Six Nations struggles

Evie Gallagher has promised Scotland will play “a completely different brand of rugby” at the WXV Global Series this autumn, as the country’s women’s team looks to move on from a difficult Women’s Six Nations under a largely new coaching setup.

The Bristol Bears No.8, fit again after an injury-interrupted season, made 40 appearances for Scotland and was part of the squad that climbed to a record-high fifth in the World Rugby rankings two years ago. She also featured in last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, where Scotland beat Wales 38-8 in the group stage before exiting at the quarter-final stage.

Interim head coach Dave Butcher, who joined as an assistant in February, has taken charge ahead of September home Tests against Canada, New Zealand and Australia, followed by two matches in Australia in October. He replaces Sione Fukofuka, who departed after eight months for family and personal reasons and has since been appointed head coach of the Wallaroos. Senior assistant Ioan Cunningham also left, leaving Butcher to build a new backroom team alongside assistants Chris Laidlaw, Tom Luke and Robbie Fergusson.

Rather than viewing the compressed preparation time as a setback, Gallagher sees the clean slate as an opportunity. “Dave’s very keen to start fresh,” she said. “We’ve got new assistant coaches who have come in as well, so we’re a different team than the team that Sione coached.”

Gallagher, who turns 26 this weekend, acknowledged the Six Nations fell well short of expectations. “As a squad, we know that Six Nations wasn’t our best — injuries and things aside, we just didn’t perform how we know we can. That’s what hurts us the most as a group. We don’t want to just play for Scotland, we want to win for Scotland.”

Despite the turbulence, she insists the squad’s resilience remains its defining quality. “This squad goes through adversity like no one else. We’re very good at sticking together and just focusing on the rugby — we’ve actually got pretty used to just powering on.”

The goal for the WXV campaign is clear: recapture the form that made Scotland one of the most improved sides in the women’s game. “We’re really focusing this preseason on getting back to playing with the attacking threat we had at the World Cup and getting back to performances that we can be proud of,” Gallagher said.