'We’re at a very pivotal point': Uncertainty as SRU set to cut women's contracts

When Rhona Lloyd scored Scotland’s consolation try with the clock in the red in Sunday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to England in Bristol all sorts of emotions came pouring out from her and her team mates.

Tears were streaming down the winger’s face as the players surely felt pride at having made it to the last eight and a real sense of togetherness after battling through the whole summer to that point amid some challenging circumstances.

But they also felt a pervading sense of sadness because they knew that once referee Aurélie Groizeleau blew the final whistle soon after the 40-8 reverse at Ashton Gate that it really was going to be the end of an era.

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The coaching team, led by head coach Bryan Easson and his trusty long-time defence coach Tyrone Holmes, will not be part of things going forward.

Experienced players Jade Konkel (74 caps) and Lisa Cockburn (37 caps) had signalled pre-match that they would be retiring from international rugby upon Scotland’s exit from the competition.

And, since the match, Caity Mattinson (37 caps) has also announced her retirement from Scotland duties and more could follow in the coming weeks.

That is because currently the overriding emotion and feeling among the bulk of the playing group is uncertainty.

The build up to the World Cup in England was “very disruptive” according to skipper Rachel Malcolm amid contract talks and the difficult timing of the news that Easson was to be leaving his post.

And it now seems, if the majority of reports are to be believed, that only around 15 players will have contracts with Scottish Rugby going forward.

If that is to be the case then it means that for sixth in the world Scotland to continue to try and close the gap on the top four in the world will be increasingly difficult heading into 2026 and beyond.

“We’re at a very pivotal point,” skipper Rachel Malcolm, who has signalled her intention to play on, said. “We have had a core group for the best part of 10 years now as Scotland women and we’ve grown hugely and it kind of feels like we are just on the crest of something pretty special.

“The 32 players that have been at this World Cup have shown that with support and having people training in full-time environments with excellent coaches just how far we can go.

“What I want to see for the future of this game is that support to not decrease but continue. I think to do that we need to just keep driving it, we need to keep challenging it and use this as a springboard into the next phase of Scotland women.”

When asked what CEO Alex Williamson, performance director David Nucifora and the rest of the hierarchy at Scottish Rugby can do to help the women’s game progress and not stall or go backwards, the skipper stated: “Just to listen. We [as players] know this game better than anyone. We’re a part of this thing and I think we all want the same thing.

“We want to push Scotland women forward. We want to be a part of Scottish rugby. We want to work together to get us to compete with the likes of England.

“And I think, with the player voice incorporated in that, then we can definitely move this sport forward and this team forward.”

Outgoing head coach Easson added: “In three years we’ve gone professional [28 players were given professional contracts post the 2021 World Cup played in 2022 in New Zealand] and in three years we’ve gone to fifth in the world and are now sixth.

“We’ve qualified for two Rugby World Cups and we’ve got to the latter stage of a World Cup – that doesn’t happen by accident.

“You look after players and you invest in the future and what you want it to look like, you don’t just stop that, you’ve got to keep building on that.

“Investment is up to the powers that be where they see the future going, but you have to invest.”

Whatever happens next one thing is for sure, there needs to be some serious bridge building done between the Scottish Rugby hierarchy and the top female players.

The departing Konkel, who will continue to play for Harlequins in the PWR, said pointedly post-match on Sunday: “The fact that we made it to a quarter-final here is – I’m not going to lie – through no help of the SRU [Scottish Rugby Union].”

Going forward it is thought that Scottish Rugby want to reshape the women’s game by strengthening Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors who play in the Celtic Challenge competition against Welsh and Irish sides.

Currently the majority of the international squad play their club rugby in England and France.

Konkel, the 31-year-old back-rower who was Scotland’s first ever professional female player back in 2016, added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of months.

“I think the long-term plan of growing the game in Scotland is a fantastic idea, in fact I think it’s a brilliant idea, but I think time is what that would need and unfortunately everything is being chucked at that right now.

“We’ve never disagreed with that decision of what they want in a long-term plan, but it’s sad that we’ve come into this tournament with uncertainty of contracts when we want to be growing the game in the professional era. We’ve had such a core group of players now that we want to keep competing.

“It’s the end of a World Cup so it is a rebuild year, but come the Six Nations in 2026 we don’t want to be back on the other side of those results, we want to keep pushing and performing and that comes with a slow change not just all up and go.”

Asked if she had a final message for those at the top end of the governing body, Konkel simply said: “Respect us – know that this is a programme that we pour our lives into.”