Scots looking to shift mindsets

SCOTLAND are hoping to put their ‘morbid story’ behind them and turn a new leaf in this Six Nations. Despite breaking a 12-year drought to make the World Cup last year, Bryan Easson’s side have lost their last nine games in all competitions and finished bottom in the 2022 Six Nations.

However, captain Rachel Malcolm, 31, says the squad can compete and are hopeful of breaking their losing run. She said: “We are frustrated with our results over the last couple of years.

“We’ve proven that we’re good enough to compete, but we just need to find a way to win and putting more points on the board in games is the way forward with that. If you look at nine defeats, it tells a pretty morbid story, but I think that when you actually look at the performances within them, it gives you hope.”

Malcolm revealed that the squad has asked for psychological support to help shift mindsets to turn their narrow losses into wins, and the SRU confirmed they will be able to access those resources in the lead-up to the tournament.

For head coach Easson, the measurement for a successful tournament isn’t results-based but rather, the performances of his side.

He said: “The way we look at every game is about us improving. We had some good performances at the World Cup, but we want to move on. If we put in good performances, we will win games.”

Scotland travel to England first up and have home fixtures against Wales, Ireland and Italy.

SQUAD

FORWARDS: Bartlett, Belisle, Bonar, Clarke, Cockburn, Cooper, Donaldson, Foley, Gallagher, Konkel-Roberts, Malcolm (c), Martin, Mclachlan, Mcmillan, Muzambe, O’donnell, Skeldon, Turner, Rettie, Wassell, Young BACKS: Blacklock, Clarke, Grant, Law, Mattinson, Mcdonald, Mcghie, Mcintyre, Musgrove, Nelson, Orr, Rollie, Sinclair, Smith, Wills