Emma Wassell on returning to Scotland squad after full sternotomy

Scotland second-row Emma Wassell has already made many people proud with the way she has dealt with a tough 14-month period in which she has been hit hard by loss and serious illness.

Now that she has her boots back on and is fully fit she says she would be “incredibly proud” to turn out for Scotland once again.

And her desire to play international rugby burns brighter than ever before with August and September’s Rugby World Cup in England her constant driver.

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

Wassell, the 30-year-old from Ellon who has earned 67-caps since her international debut in 2014, had to deal with the passing of her mother Pauline last April.

Then, in August, she spent nearly two weeks in hospital after a tumour in her chest was discovered during Scotland’s 2024/25 pre-season training block.

She then had one operation before a second, a full sternotomy, (a surgical procedure where the breastbone is split to allow access to the heart and chest cavity), came in November.

In December she announced that her battle with the tumour was over and, since then, she has slowly been working her way back to things with the help of the national team medics and backroom staff.

As a result, if it comes in the summer Tests or at the big dance down south, would cap number 68 be one of Wassell’s most special given what she has been through?

“The prospect of actually being able to pull a Scotland jersey back on is huge for me,” she said. “Every cap is obviously special for its own reason, but it’s certainly been a journey to get to the next one if it comes.

“So many people often say you should play every game like it’s your last cap. The last time I played for Scotland against Ireland was 14 months ago so, when I was sick, I reflected and was thinking that it could have been my last game for Scotland.

“Now I am in a much better place and while there’s no certainties around me playing again, knowing that I’ve been allowed another chance to hopefully play for Scotland again makes me excited and incredibly proud.”

Wassell completed the first step back to pulling on the dark blue jersey again recently when she was named in the Scotland 38-strong extended training squad which will be cut to 32 in early August ahead of the World Cup.

“As soon as I woke up from the [full sternotomy] operation in November, I was like, ‘I’m alive, so I’ll be playing rugby again’,” the player, who was at the World Cup in 2022 in New Zealand, said.

“I’m very lucky that I’ve had this goal of trying to get back in a Scotland shirt and make it to the World Cup.

 

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“Everyone’s like ‘I can’t believe how far you’ve pushed yourself’, but in my head it’s just been another injury rehab journey and I have worked week by week to see what I could tick off.

“Come June I wanted to be in the extended Scotland squad and now I am I can put my hand up for selection like everyone else.

“In terms of the last 14 months, you have one setback and then you think it’s never going to get any worse – and then it got worse.

“What I’ve realised is that you have no idea how strong and how capable you are. Everything does happen for a reason and I believe in the process.

“I’ve probably realised how resilient I am and how resilient I can be in certain situations. You’ve got a whole lot of growth in you and sometimes you only can see that growth through adversity and I am looking forward positively now.”

After being out of the game for so long Wassell, who is currently unattached in terms of a club with a new one set to be announced soon, says it was so good to just “crack on” last week in training as the Scots got back together in Edinburgh.

“I was lucky enough to be in and around the squad for the Six Nations, but it’s so different in the sense you’re not really ‘in it’ with the players,” she explained.

“I know it’s only been one week back, but we didn’t get eased into World Cup pre-season last week, it was straight in and it just felt so nice to be on the pitch with my team mates again.

“I felt like a normal rugby player, I could just crack on, do my thing and not have to think about being managed back to full training as I had been previously.

“We did a fitness test last week and the strength and conditioning coach was saying ‘I can’t believe Emma is smiling during a fitness test’.

“But I was like ‘God, I’m happy to be here’ and it felt so good to be back in amongst it.

“I’m fiercely competitive. I’m passionate about pushing Scotland forward and I want to hopefully be part of the World Cup squad.”

Scotland’s first World Cup match is in Pool B against Wales on 23rd August. Whether Wassell is in the team or not, what an achievement to have already come this far off the back of huge adversity.

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