Scotland Women Lay Foundations at Training Camp

The camp marked the first opportunity for the new management team to work with the squad following the conclusion of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, providing a chance to assess the current landscape of the programme and set a foundation for the months ahead.

New Head Coach Sione Fukofuka has overseen his first weeks in the role, using the camp as an opportunity to begin shaping the direction of the squad and build relationships across the playing and coaching group.

On getting settled into the role

“It’s been great. I’ve had just under three weeks of a lot of information, a lot of new faces, but to be honest I’m loving it. I knew what I was coming to weather-wise. The resources here, getting to know the players and the staff has been fantastic.

“Our first training camp was great. We ended up bringing in 61 players. We called it our base camp, this is where we start from and where we build from and go forward. It’s given myself and Ioan (Cunningham) the opportunity to learn about the playing group, understand where we are right now, and gives us some really good insight about where we want to take this team. It’s really exciting – there are some really young players here, amongst some experienced ones, and of course of the back of a World Cup, there’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm to go forward.”

Head Coach Sione Fukofaka on new Senior Assistance Coach Ioan Cunningham

“I’ve obviously never worked with him before but coached against him. Bringing him in with his level of experience having been a head coach himself, has been fantastic in terms of support but also the detail technically and tactically that he is able to share with the players, you can just see that learning and development coming through the players. I’m grateful for the opportunity to working with him and I’m excited to keep building that relationship.”

Looking ahead, Fukofuka outlined the key priorities

“Obviously we’ll be watching Celtic Challenge, BUCS, PWR and the French leagues to keep an eye on our players. We’ll take all the information we have taken from base camp and monitor performances over the next six to eight weeks before we assemble again. Our intention is to select for the Six Nations based on form, we want to pick the best players who can play for Scotland.”

Attention now turns to the domestic season, where players will look to build on the work done in camp and stake their claim for selection ahead of the Six Nations.

From Rachel Malcolm

Captain Rachel Malcolm echoed the sense of optimism within the squad, highlighting the positive impact of returning to camp following a Rugby World Cup cycle.

“It’s been really exciting to come back into Scotland camp, I think we probably all needed a wee bit of a break after a long four year cycle, but to come back in and have such a huge group of players with so much potential has been super exciting. To have a new management team leading us with a new head coach is also kind of just added an extra bit of energy and an extra bit of edge for sure. I think all of us are in the same mindset and we’re all keen to keep pushing forward.”

With a strong base now in place and a clear focus on form and performance, Scotland Women will look to carry the momentum from camp into the domestic season ahead of preparing for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations later in the Spring.