Developing more leaders in the Scotland Women team has helped with their progression over the past 12 months, according to captain Rachel Malcolm.  

The flanker has established herself not only as a fine international player but also as one of the game’s premier leaders since first captaining Scotland in 2018.  

Having endured a 12-match winless run between the 2022 Six Nations and last year’s championship, Malcolm’s side enjoyed a seven-match winning run last season.  

Malcolm, 33, said she’s had to learn her leadership style the hard way.  

She said: “It was probably something that I learnt quite early in my leadership career, probably the hard way, is that leading by yourself is extremely hard. 

Captain Rachel Malcolm speaks to the Scotland squadCaptain Rachel Malcolm speaks to the Scotland squad (Image: SNS)

“The beauty of playing team sport is that you don’t have to do it on your own and the development I have seen from so many players in this group has been amazing, both in how they take on different aspects of the game and also how they go about supporting me. 

“It has been phenomenal and that is probably why we have seen such growth in our on field performances.” 

Malcolm picked out back-row Evie Gallagher and centre Emma Orr as two of the younger cohort who have stepped up with.  

She added: “Evie is someone who doesn’t maybe say a lot, but when she does people listen and she is growing in confidence.  

Similarly Emma is someone who you don’t hear screaming at people all over the pitch, but she is such a phenomenal player and she leads by example and has a lot of respect.” 

Many of this Scotland squad have, like Malcolm, been on the Test scene for a significant time and over the years have picked up the skills they need to win tight matches.  

She picked out vice-captain Helen Nelson, plus locks Emma Wassell and Sarah Bonar, centre Lisa Thomson, who Malcolm succeeded as captain, as the other leaders within the group. 

She continued: “When we first started out on this journey with this group, probably around 2016, not many of us new how to win.  

“We didn’t know the nuances around doing the right things at different points of the game and as a group we have learnt. 

“We have learned together and we have added talent to the group along the way with new faces and we have reflected a lot game on game and season on season and come out of it with a huge amount of learnings.” 

Rachel Malcolm in action for Scotland against Spain last yearRachel Malcolm in action for Scotland against Spain last year (Image: SNS)

During this year’s Six Nations, with Scotland only requiring a draw to secure World Cup qualification and 15-12 down against Ireland, she turned down a chance of three points in favour of a kick to the corner that was ultimately fruitless.  

Read more:

Malcolm admitted she won’t get every decision right: “We still aren’t getting it perfect, there are still some things we want to put right from the last Six Nations and I have reflected on that myself with the leaders and hopefully that is something we can rectify this year.

"We have obviously got a massive year coming up with WXV and then the Rugby World Cup and getting decisions right is going to be key in those big games so we will continue to work in that area."

The Scotland captain spoke ahead of two autumn internationals against Wales and Fiji at Hive Stadium next month before they head to South Africa to defend the WXV2 title.  

The squad are currently in week three of a pre-season schedule as they build towards the Rugby World Cup, for which they are almost certain to qualify following WXV. 

Five uncapped players were named in the initial training squad last month, while Sale Sharks’ Rachel Phillips was added to the squad on Monday to take the tally to a half-dozen of new faces.  

Malcolm knows it is important for those players to feel comfortable in the Scotland set-up. 

She said: “What I've seen over the last couple of years is that group [of youngsters] are more comfortable in this environment than they used to be because of the exposure they're getting in the pathway.  

“They are coming in off the back of a competitive U20 Six Nations and they've had elite level preparation, so they come into this camp with a bit better understanding of what the standards are.  

“For us as older players, it's to introduce ourselves as quickly as possible, chat to them when we have an opportunity and if we see someone struggling or not stepping up, we give them that nudge and make sure they're switching in.  

“Particularly in pre-season, we're not getting ready for a game right now, we're getting this whole squad prepared for the season ahead so there's tonnes of opportunity and we want everyone to benefit from that."