Hello from Cape Town!

We arrived in South Africa on Friday last week and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our experience so far. It’s an amazing country, with scenic landscapes and a vibrant culture, and we’ve experienced such a warm welcome already.

It’s an incredible honour to get to lead my country in any capacity and it’s one I never take for granted. We’ve got a lot of inspiring stories within our group of players so knowing each individual’s journey and getting to lead a group of players who I’m so connected with is incredibly special.

WXV is vital in terms of growing the game and I believe it’s probably the biggest step forward in the women’s game as each team is getting more exposure to high-level rugby. To get women’s rugby out there and inspire little girls and let them know that there’s opportunities like this out there is important for us.

In terms of developing the game, it’s crucial for all of these teams to get the opportunity to play different styles of rugby. We don’t play teams like South Africa, USA and Japan very often so it presents a completely different challenge for us and it will help us push on as a team as a result.

Up first are the hosts, South Africa, who are an extremely physical side. They have had a lot of games in the lead up to WXV so it’s important to ensure that we’re game ready and switched on from the first minute, because we know that they are going to bring a lot of heat straight off bat. They are a formidable opponent and it’s an honour to get to play them in their home country as well so it will be a very exciting match.

To come and play at what is the first tournament of its kind gives us the opportunity to create history, not only by being a part of it but by also coming out here and doing our best to challenge for it as well.

We’re extremely excited for the next three weeks ahead and it’s an absolute honour for me to lead the side but I think this is an easy job because I’ve got such an incredible group of players behind me.

Your support means everything to the squad and I’d encourage everyone to tune in this Friday for our opening match against South Africa as we look to put in a performance to make those back home proud!

Scotland get underway with their WXV 2 campaign this week, as they take on hosts, South Africa, at Danie Craven Stadium on Friday 13 October (kick-off 3.30pm UK time), before facing USA on Friday 20 October (kick-off 1pm UK time) and Japan on Friday 27 October (kick-off 1pm UK time). 

You can watch all the action across the three games live on RugbyPass TV. For an explainer on World Rugby’s new competition, including details on all of Scotland’s fixtures and opponents, click HERE.