Malcolm finds optimism in Scotland's 66-14 loss as new coaching era begins

Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm insisted there are genuine reasons for optimism despite her side conceding 66 points to New Zealand in their WXV Global Series fixture at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh. Whitney Hansen’s Black Ferns crossed for 10 tries to claim their first-ever win in the Scottish capital, with Scotland’s only response coming through a pair of Evie Gallagher tries, both converted by Helen Nelson.

The result leaves Scotland having conceded 130 points across their two WXV Global Series matches this autumn — a sobering statistic that Malcolm acknowledged while refusing to let it define the mood in camp.

“We pride ourselves on our character, and there were spells in that game where we let it get away from us — at the start of the game and then the 10 minutes after half-time,” Malcolm said at full-time. “But the bit that I’m just so proud of is how we found a way to come back, how we found a way to problem-solve. In the 80th minute, I had my teammates coming, lifting me up, saying, ‘go again’. We’ve got so much we can build on.”

The context matters. Scotland only installed Dave Butcher as interim head coach shortly before the WXV Global Series got underway, following Sione Fukofuka’s departure after eight months in charge. Butcher brought in Craig Laidlaw and Robbie Fergusson as new assistants, with Tom Luke seconded from Premiership Women’s Rugby club Bristol Bears. Two matches into that new era, the turnaround has been rapid and the foundations are still being laid.

“We’ve got a whole new coaching team, a new system, and I think we’re just seeing, through these two games, so much progress,” Malcolm added. “We just need a bit more time together, a bit more game time, but we’re seeing improvements week on week, and it feels like there’s hope again, which is really nice. We just need to find a way to minimise those errors so that they don’t come time after time.”

Scotland’s attention now turns to the Wallaroos, who arrive in Edinburgh next weekend for the first of three Tests between the two sides over the next four weeks. Australia will be looking to bounce back after surrendering a 14-point lead against France — at one stage leading 26-12 in Aix-en-Provence before France fought back to win 29-26. The remaining two Tests will be played in Sydney and Canberra in October.