DAVID SOLE

Scotland’s women did it the hard way last weekend.

But in defeating Ireland in Italy, with a last-minute conversion of a try, they kept their hopes alive of qualifying for the World Cup in New Zealand next year.

They progress into a repechage competition in January, where they

will face Samoa, and the winners of the play-off between Kenya and Colombia for the final place in the tournament.

It was a sensational win for the Scots women, and the match could hardly have been any closer.

For Ireland, defeat meant that for the first time since 1991, they will not be at a World Cup.

Interestingly, the ramifications in the Irish Press have been significant, as there was clearly an expectation that they would be taking their place in the competition as usual.

For the Scots however, the lifeline is significant, albeit there is still a bit of a mountain to climb come January, which feels like a long way away.

The girls have been rewarded with another match before then, against Japan at the DAM Health stadium – or as others may know it, Edinburgh’s new home ground on Murrayfield’s back pitches.

It will be interesting to see whether the SRU provide financial support for their women, who will be having

Will the SRU provide financial support for their women?

to juggle jobs to spend time in the repechage competition and, if all goes well, to travel to New Zealand for the main event itself.

It is a huge ask for the part-timers, who will find themselves competing against more professional teams if they do manage to qualify.

Whether they do or not, it should be posing further questions of the SRU as to the extent that they truly do invest in the women’s game, and are trying to grow it further in Scotland.

Meanwhile, the South African clubs’ home matches in the newlyformed United Rugby Championship competition could be relocated to venues thousands of miles from their home stadia owing to Covid.

Because South Africa is still on the UK’S red list for travel, British teams heading for their away legs in South Africa would have to quarantine for 14 days on their return.

This would mean that some clubs would find it hard to fulfil their

commitments with first-team squads in the first round of the Heineken European Cup in December.

It is a pity for everyone involved that this may be the case. But a competition of this nature was always going to be challenging in the current environment.

Glasgow’s game against the Sharks yesterday was another first, as both sides faced new opposition for the very first time.

It is just a shame, for all concerned, that the return match may not take place in Durban.