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Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm insists disruption over player contracts is now ‘finished’ as preparations continue for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Concerns were raised last month when Malcolm alleged her players had been put in an ‘unfair’ position ahead of the competition — with off-field issues threatening to derail the build-up.
Several Scotland players had been left in the dark as to whether they would have their contracts renewed post-World Cup, and Malcolm admitted it had been a ‘disruptive influence’.
Speaking at yesterday’s squad announcement in St Andrews, Malcolm said: ‘As far as anything is going to happen, I believe, yes, it’s finished.
‘Everything else is pretty irrelevant when you go out there and you get to sing your anthem and perform.
‘Ultimately, the thing that we love to do is play rugby. The thing that we’ve always dreamt of doing is playing rugby at the World Cup with the thistle on our chest. It’s so close now and the excitement around this is building, it’s been building this whole year.
Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm flies the Saltire at the Scotland World Cup squad reveal
Head coach Easson and skipper Malcolm are confident ahead of the tournament in England
Emma Wassell, Rachel Malcolm, Lisa Thompson, Caity Mattinson and Francesca McGie
‘It’s going to be probably the most phenomenal event in women’s rugby, potentially women’s sport, for a very long time. And I think it’s up to us now to go and make the most of that opportunity.’
The tournament, which is being hosted in England, will be the biggest ever Women’s World Cup, with 350,000 tickets already sold for the event.
It marks another major milestone for the Scots, who qualified after finishing runners-up in the WXV2 competition last October.
They will compete in Pool B alongside Canada, Wales and Fiji, and they get their campaign under way against the Welsh in Manchester on August 23.
Whether Lana Skeldon makes an appearance, meanwhile, remains to be seen.
Scotland’s most capped player has been named in coach Bryan Easson’s 32-woman squad — despite injuring her ankle in last week’s defeat by Ireland.
The hooker appeared to be a serious doubt for the campaign, after screaming out in pain when she was stretchered off in the first half of the match in Cork.
Easson said Skeldon had undergone an MRI, had been looked at by doctors, and was ‘available for the Wales game’.
Easson joins his squad for their official photograph on the beachfront at St Andrews
Rhona Lloyd and Rachel Malcolm lead the squad back to the Old Course Hotel for media duty
He said: ‘She has recovered well from injuries in the past. She had a knee injury that we felt might keep her out of the Six Nations, but her ability to recover and her diligence around her rehab is great. We are delighted to have her available.’
For her part, Skeldon was reluctant to put a timeframe on when she might make an appearance at this summer’s tournament. The Scotland stalwart, who was wearing a moon boot at Thursday’s press gathering, admitted she would ‘see how the next few weeks go’.
‘I don’t think it’s for me or anyone to put a date on it, but I am in the best hands,’ she said. ‘Obviously it’s much more positive than I was expecting, because it wasn’t great when it happened. I’ll take it day by day and see how I get on.
‘I’ve only got two weeks, it’s a tight turnaround, but I’ll give it my best shot. I’m a pretty resilient person, so we’ll see how I go.’
Concerns have also been raised for fellow hooker, Elis Martin, meanwhile, after the player attended Thursday’s media briefing on crutches.
It’s understood that this was only a precautionary measure, with the player suffering a slight niggle.
Elsewhere in Easson’s selection, Bristol Bears’ pair Elliann and Rhea Clarke have become the first set of Scottish sisters to be selected for the same Women’s Rugby World Cup squad.
