Scotland refute stage-fright suggestions but admit they got one thing wrong against England
But captain Malcolm concedes performance was not good enough
Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm admitted the performance was not good enough as her team were crushed 84-7 by England in front of a record crowd at Murrayfield but she insisted the players were not overawed by the occasion.
The attendance of 30,498 was the highest ever recorded for a standalone women’s sports fixture in Scotland and suggests that the national stadium could become a regular home for the team.
There were 13 tries in total but unfortunately for the home supporters, 12 were scored by the visitors who have not lost a Women’s Six Nations match for eight years.
“You never want to see a scoreline like that,” said Malcolm, who needed treatment on a knee injury and was unsure whether she would be fit for next weekend’s game with Italy in Parma. “I think there is positives in the opportunities we created, but I think defensively we were a wee bit naive today.
Showed them too much respect
“But ultimately we came to this tournament really targeting three games. This wasn't one of them. We wanted to get a performance today and I think that's where we probably let ourselves down.”
It’s Scotland's first campaign under new coach Sione Fukofuka and they opened with a win over Wales in Cardiff last weekend. They will fancy themselves against Italy and also in the match with Ireland on May 17 but the game against the world champions was always going to be their toughest of the championship. Nevertheless, there were regrets about the performance, particularly defensively.
“I think we probably showed them too much respect,” said Malcolm. “We know they're obviously the best team in the world and at times defensively I think we let them come at us too much. We also probably then got sucked in because then we're on the back foot.
“We're not going to shy away from the fact that that wasn't good enough but ultimately that's where we are at the minute. Next week's another week and we've got to push on.”
Malcolm was emphatic in batting away the suggestion that the occasion got to the team.
“No. Genuinely, no,” she said. “Not one bit. I just don't think we were good enough and I don't think that's where we're at yet.”
Attendance was ‘phenomenal’
Fukofuka, who succeeded Bryan Easson as head coach, pointed to a lack of accuracy and missed tackles were also a big problem against muscular opponents.
“The performance wasn't what we wanted to put on in front of such a fantastic crowd and occasion,” Fukofuka said. “When we weren't accurate, when we weren't clinical, we got punished. The reality is England are the world No 1 for a reason and we gave them opportunities on the back of some of our execution issues and decision-making at the end of the day.”
Despite the result, it was still a landmark day for women’s sport in Scotland. It’s just two years since selling out this fixture at the 7,800-capacity Hive Stadium next door felt like a big achievement. There were four times that number inside Murrayfield.
“It was phenomenal,” said Malcolm. “Today was about so much more than just the game. I think for those of us that have been around for ten years-plus, we've come from [playing on] back pitches, we've come from a couple of hundred people in stands, sometimes just a couple, literally. Even to arrive today and have the reception that we got is phenomenal. It's a result of the work that we've done as players to put performances on the pitch that make people want to come back.
“Today wasn't one of them but that doesn't take away from what we've created over the last ten years to make this happen.”
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