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Rachel Malcolm pays tribute to past players as Scotland reach quarter-finals
By Joe Harvey at Salford Community Stadium, Salford
Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm credited past players after her side wrapped up quarter-final qualification at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
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It is the first time since 2002 that the Scots have booked their place in the last eight.
Bryan Easson’s side had to dig deep against a resurgent Fiji to win 29–15 at Salford Community Stadium.
Francesca McGhie was among the tries again for her country. The wing dotted down twice against the Pacific Islanders, while Rhona Lloyd also got a brace and Emma Orr rounded off the scoring.
Malcolm was on the field for the entirety of the 80 minutes in Greater Manchester and registered another indomitable performance from the back-row.
The nine year veteran of the international side grinned from ear-to-ear at full-time but was also in a reflective mood.
In 2014 and 2017 Scotland missed out on World Cup qualification altogether. They only qualified for this edition of the tournament last October thanks to a second-place finish at WXV 2.
With all this in mind Malcolm recognised what a milestone this 23-year wait for a spot in the quarter-finals was for all associated with the team.
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“There’s women before us that have been fighting for this goal,” Malcolm said. “We fought to qualify for a World Cup.
“Since I’ve been a part (of the Scotland squad) it’s always about competing at the top level of the table and to get to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002 is just an absolutely phenomenal achievement – but one that work that we have tirelessly put in, not only in the last three year cycle, but the cycles before that.
“That win today was for the women on the pitch, but also the women that have gone before us to fight to get us in this position.”
Next up for Malcolm and her teammates is an encounter with World Rugby’s second ranked side, Canada.
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It is a key clash for both teams. Topping Pool B will offer a more straightforward route to the semi-finals against the team that finished second in Pool A.
As a result neither side will be taking their foot off the gas as knockout rugby approaches.
Both teams have room for improvement. Canada turned the ball over to Wales on 27 occasions, while Scotland were tested physically by the Fijians, who showed no sign of weariness as they crossed the whitewash on three occasions.
“Fiji were phenomenal,” Malcolm said. “At first it felt like the game was going to go slightly like last week’s did and just falling into our favour, but as soon as they got a handle on the game it was a completely different story.
“They pushed us so hard. It was really difficult out there. It never felt comfortable. I thought their back-row particularly made our life difficult. We probably need to look at some aspects of our game – our discipline, our rolling away, to keep on the right side of the ref.
“To see that one to 23 performance gives us huge confidence going into next week.”