Scottish Rugby pledges to improve standing of women’s game

Following today’s meeting of the Six Nations Council in Paris – where it was confirmed that the current structure of the Women’s Six Nations Championship competition would continue – Scottish Rugby is determined to improve the performance, culture and standing of women’s rugby in Scotland.Scottish Rugby wants to see the women’s game thrive and player numbers increase, entirely consistent with our Strategic Plan which covers the period up to June 2016.Colin Thomson, Director of Rugby Operations, said: “Recent international XV-a-side results for the Scotland Women’s team within the Six Nations Championship have been deeply disappointing and have clearly illustrated the challenges we face competing at this level.”We are determined to address this decline and whatever solution is arrived at will be one with the player at its core.”Mark Dodson, our Chief Executive, is commissioning a report at once looking at how the women’s game operates in Scotland and assessing its overall health.”The report will be wide-ranging with a key element the need to identify and implement solutions that increase the number of women players, assist their development as athletes and ensure they can perform at the highest level.Inspiration for youngsters”As the 2012 London Olympics underlined, the achievements of female athletes proved inspirational and continue to act as a catalyst for more young girls to become involved in sport.”Our on-going duty is to work with all concerned to ensure we do our best to equip our women rugby players to be the very best they can be and perform with distinction in a Scotland jersey.”