Scotland’s World Cup adventure came to an end as they were overpowered by tournament favourites England in the Bristol rain. Here are some talking points
Scotland start and finish well
Scotland will undoubtedly be proud of the way they started the game, not just getting the first points of the game but putting England under pressure. For the first time since the 2016 match (when Rhona Lloyd and Lisa Thomson made their Scotland debuts), England didn’t score in the first ten minutes. Sometimes small victories are worth noting when going up against such a dominant team.
The start was really bright, the first line out was safe and successfully taken. The attack was dynamic and making ground, although under penalty advantage, Helen Nelson may have wished she had gone wide rather than carrying into contact with the England defence fairly contracted and Emma Orr, Chloe Rollie and Lloyd with a three-on-two and plenty space to work with. It was understandable that Scotland took the three at this point, getting reward on the scoreboard for the effort, and ensuring that Scotland were not nilled, as had happened in the 2020 and 2024 fixtures which were also played in poor weather.
In the next few minutes, Scotland soaked up pressure well, tackled fiercely and cleared mostly well, apart from a moment where Rollie inexplicably didn’t call a mark in her 22.
But unfortunately, it didn’t last.
Very little went Scotland’s way for the next hour of the game, but Scotland can also be proud that they fought to the end, and got the last score. They dominated quite a bit of the last ten minutes, pressuring England into errors and poor discipline. The field position for the try came from an excellent line break from Francesca McGhie, well supported and taken on by Alex Stewart. Evie Gallagher went quickly from a penalty and made metres, and Scotland showed patience in phase after phase and demonstrated that they never give up. Athough it got scrappy right at the end, Lloyd showed composure and commitment to get the try that she and the team deserved.
Plenty in the defensive effort to be proud of
Even if they did concede six tries, and the tackle percentage was down a bit, Scotland can still take some heart from their defensive performance. England were limited to three line breaks and were not, as they usually do, scoring a large number of well-worked tries through their backs. In fact, they were only making limited gains through their passing game before something would bring it to a halt.
Yes, some moves broke down because of the slippery ball, but there was a lot of hustle in the defence, and Scotland continued to show their willingness to put pressure on the attacking player or disrupt the passing line and dent England’s usual cohesion. The problem for Scotland was that they were also giving a platform to England through the set-piece. The Red Roses’ greater power, especially in the forwards, was telling at breaking down Scotland’s resistance.
Emma Orr was the star defensive performer – Scotland’s joint top tackler with 11 – but what stood out was how crucial some of those tackles were, showing just how world class she is. An early example was the perfect technique to stop a Holly Aitchison run and allow Bonar and Konkel to win a jackal penalty. She then stopped a possible Helena Rowland line break a few minutes later. She took Lucy Packer into touch in the last ten minutes when it looked like a line break was on. Her most eye-catching was near the start of the second half when Abby Dow broke through after charging down Thomson. Not many players lay a finger on Dow when she is charging for the line, but Orr got her down and nearly won the ball back too. She also beat Meg Jones to a grounding after a grubber kick for good measure, preventing another try.
Lack of platform undermines Scottish chances
One of the positives was seeing the kicking game be as good as it has been this year, for example an early nudge through from Nelson and chase from Rollie put Rowland’s clearance under pressure. They didn’t win every kicking battle (and with three 50:22s, you’d say England did edge this aspect) but they did also sometimes come out on top and they also used it to relieve pressure or to change the dynamic in attack. Unfortunately, a good kicking game can only really help you when the lineout is functioning.
There was consistently a real struggle at scrum and lineout and it was the biggest point of difference between the two teams. Even that first 10 minutes where overall the match went as well as it got for Scotland, there were two stolen lineouts.
The biggest frustration was probably the two after England’s first try. Firstly, Scotland were untidy on the throw just inside their own half. It allowed England to play their way up the field and put a smart grubber into touch a few metres from the try line. The mess at the second gave the ball straight back to England and all it took was two powerful carries from England forwards and they were in for their second before Scotland had recovered from the first.
It’s not clear exactly what the issue is with lineouts, Scotland have always looked to be ambitious on the lineout, sometimes overcomplicating things, but it has occasionally paid off, including against Ireland earlier this year. It has felt some of those struggles might be worth it, if it led to it all coming together in crucial matches – like a World Cup quarter-final.
It’s understandable Scotland would take chances against England; high ambition would be the only way to pull off a shock result against such a strong team. This time it probably was a mixture of the weather and England having done their homework, but it’s also hard not to wonder if the turnover in forwards coaches over the last 14 months – Martin Haag departed in July 2024, then Fraser Brown came in as a consultant for a few months then left, with Ross Miller stepping up from the men’s u18s this June – may have had an impact on things.
The first scrum provided some optimism, but thereafter it was a real struggle. This made it pretty near impossible for Scotland to get into the game. We’ve seen how good they are at building attack or gaining territory from both set pieces, but there was very little to work with and they often found themselves quickly back under pressure.
England made more errors than expected, but any short-lived relief was followed with the worry that a penalty would come from the scrum.
All of this meant there was never really a way back into the game.
A farewell to the iconic Jade Konkel
Jade Konkel may just be the most important player for the Scotland women’s team since Donna Kennedy and if one descriptor has been used more consistently than any other, it is trailblazer.
Scotland’s first female professional player bowed out after an incredible career. You don’t have to go back many years to find games where the basis of Scotland’s attacking game was Konkel’s ability to carry and bust through the gainline time after time.
Never was that more noticeable than the 2020 draw with France when her 25 carries were the heart of one of Scotland’s best ever performances. It was her skill, power, commitment and determination that saw her receive a professional contract in 2016 and she has clearly been such an inspiration to the next generation of backrowers, as well as such a firm fan favourite.
She has paid Scotland back for that contract an immeasurable amount of times over. She has somehow continued to be a mainstay of the match day squad, despite also being a full-time firefighter and captain of her club and has overcome a run of serious injuries in recent years. Her versatility is also impressive – as she noted in her farewell post, she has worn the 1, 4, 6, 8, 19, 20 and 21 shirts through her Scotland career. She has undoubtedly left the shirt, most notably at number 8, in a better place.
She deserved to go out on her own terms, and she has, but you sense if she had rightfully been awarded another contract, she might have chosen that time to be another day in the future. But however much that has cast a small shadow on how her time for Scotland ended, nothing can take away from what we as fans owe to one of the true greats of the Scotland game.
SRU mismanagement threatens to undermine progress
Overall, this has been a positive World Cup for Scotland. A brilliant win against Wales, and then getting the job done against Fiji to secure a first quarter final since 2002. Fronting up really well against Canada and keeping the scoreline closer than usual to England (both scoring 40 points against us). This is a team that fans take immense pride in and the numbers turning out to support at all four games were really good.
It should be a golden opportunity to capitalise on, especially with a big standalone game at Murrayfield coming up in the Womens 6 Nations.
Unfortunately, no one seems to know publicly what is next, not the players or the fans.
Reports suggest half the squad are now without contracts, and we’ve seen the resulting retirements from Konkel, Lisa Cockburn and Caity Mattinson, all who have played a fantastic role in this World Cup success, and the uptick in Scotland’s fortunes over the past few years.
A squad that doesn’t usually air behind the scenes difficulties has had to speak out and speak up as they or their team mates are dismissed or disrespected. The statements from the SRU don’t seem to match the reality at times either. As far as I can tell, with Bryan Easson and Tyrone Holmes confirmed to be moving on, and Steve Shingler and Ross Miller only temporary appointments, there is currently no one in the coaching staff, something that needs to be rectified soon so that players aren’t completely disconnected from the set up ahead of the Women’s Six Nations.
There are tens of thousands of people behind this team, players who have worked and fought so hard to drag this team up to sixth in the world in a few years. The fans deserve better and to understand what is going on, but this incredible group of players who have given and delivered so much deserve it most of all. They, and their backroom staff, have created a squad and team inspiring young and older fans across the country, and this really could be another step on the road to something big.
Here’s hoping it’s not an opportunity squandered after a memorable and successful journey through the 2025 World Cup.
