Scotland strive for positives but 312-points tally is a concern

That Canada proved an insurmountable one was no real surprise and last year’s Rugby World Cup finalists were comfortable winners at Hive Stadium on Saturday in the opening round of WXV Global Series fixtures.

New Zealand at the same venue this weekend is unlikely to be any easier, making it the toughest of starts for Dave Butcher, Scotland’s interim head coach.

Canada ran out 64-26 winners in Edinburgh, the highest points tally they have racked up against the Scots. Rachel Malcolm, the home captain, insisted there were positives to take in defeat as she offered a realistic verdict.

‘A challenge beyond us’

“We always knew it was going to be probably a challenge beyond us,” said Malcolm, making her first Scotland appearance since injuring her knee against England during the Six Nations.

“We set ourselves the challenge of trying to fight and show our identity, and I think in the first half we were probably disappointed with what we put out there, whereas in the second half I think we started winning collisions, and we saw the kind of fruits of that at times.

“So I think for us, looking back, what we can pick from that is where we saw success, because we scored tries, and what led to those bits of success. And I think it's looking at how we can replicate those time and time again.

“I also think some of our young girls that came off the bench today showed a huge amount of promise and talent to come in to play against arguably one of the best sides in the world, and show good performances there. So from that point of view, I think as we build through the tournament, that'll be really important.”

Replacements Ceitidh Ainsworth and Katie Buchanan both came on in the second half to win their first caps and acquitted themselves well against formidable opponents. Ainsworth in particular impressed in what was her first senior game at scrum-half.

Having said that, Scotland were on the backfoot from the start and conceded five tries in each half. Olivia Apps and Lizzie Gibson, the Canadian scrum-half and openside flanker, looked a class apart and each scored a double. There were also tries for Brittany Kassil - who later received a 20-minute red card for a high tackle - Julia Omokhuale, Taylor Perry, Justine Pelletier, Gabrielle Senft and Savannah Bauder.

A fifth heavy defeat in a row

Scotland countered through first-half tries from Evie Gallagher and Shona Campbell, and two in the second half from Lana Skeldon and Rhona Lloyd.

It was the fifth heavy defeat in a row for Scotland, with the previous four coming under ex-head coach Sione Fukofuka whose shock departure for Australia opened the door for Butcher. The squad have conceded 312 points across those five games.

Butcher and Malcolm spoke pre-match about rediscovering their defensive toughness but it’s not an overnight fix and the game against New Zealand could be another gruelling day.

While the revamped WXV competition offers Scotland a chance to test themselves against the best - New Zealand and Canada are ranked second and third in the world - it doesn’t appear to have caught the public’s imagination thus far. Only 2,721 attended on Saturday. The hope is that the visit of the Black Ferns will attract more this weekend.