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Scotland women’s captain Rachel Malcolm insisted her players have been put in an ‘unfair’ position ahead of the Rugby World Cup — with off-field issues threatening to derail their preparations for the competition.
Malcolm said news of head coach Bryan Easson’s imminent departure had also come as a shock and insisted the timing of it was ‘quite upsetting’.
Lack of certainty over players’ contracts with Scottish Rugby, meanwhile, have been an ongoing issue, which she labelled a ‘disruptive’ influence.
Several Scotland players have been in the dark as to whether they would have their contracts renewed post-World Cup.
‘No, it hasn’t been ideal prep whatsoever,’ admitted Malcolm. ‘It has been very disruptive.
‘My ethos as a captain is to make my players feel like superwomen. It’s to make them feel valued and it’s to make them feel like they belong — and the processes which have gone on behind the scenes have definitely done almost the opposite of those three things.’
Scotland head coach Bryan Easson has revealed that he will be stepping down
Scotland skipper Rachel Malcolm has hit out at the disruption ahead of the Rugby World Cup
While Malcolm admitted that conversations had continued behind the scenes, she said these had been ‘frustrating’ and insisted ‘we probably haven’t had too much sympathy towards our case’.
‘I think the timing piece is the most frustrating,’ she continued. ‘As players, we want to have 100 per cent of our focus on performing for our country at the biggest tournament in our careers, but there’s obviously been that distraction piece.
‘I think all of us are very passionate that the game in Scotland needs to grow, and all of us are very passionate about being part of that process, but not at the detriment of our performance at the World Cup, which ultimately is the most important part of our careers as players and I think its slightly unfair to put us in a position where that distraction is there.’
News that long-serving coach Easson would soon be leaving, meanwhile, has also hit home hard. It was announced by Scottish Rugby last week that Easson would be stepping down, following Scotland’s World Cup campaign.
Malcolm said this had come as a surprise, insisting she ‘hadn’t been aware of it too long’.
‘It was probably similar timings to you guys (the media) finding out, so it’s obviously a shock. I think, for us as players, the timing of it was quite upsetting.
‘Having, on a personal level, worked with Bryan for the majority of my Scotland career, and been through some pretty impressive highs and a lot of lows, we’ve always stuck together and kept true to what we want to achieve.
‘I think what we have achieved in that time is pretty spectacular in terms of records here, there and everywhere, I think it’s upsetting that he’s obviously stepping away from the post, but also I think the opportunity to go and do his career justice at this World Cup is definitely something that is driving us as players.’
Malcolm appeared to suggest the decision had been taken out of Easson’s hands, saying: ‘I don’t think much of it was within his control, so obviously Scottish Rugby decided that was the time to do it, and that’s when it’s done, so there’s not much else we can do about that.’
Mail Sport understands, however, that it was Easson himself who made the decision to announce his departure sooner rather later — and that he stepped down from the role of his own volition.
Speaking to the media ahead of Scotland’s Summer Test against Italy this weekend, he said: ‘I had a discussion with Alex (Williamson, CEO), maybe three, four weeks ago and with my contract running out, it was felt that it was the right time to move on.’
Scottish Rugby, meanwhile, said it had been ‘engaged with the Scotland women playing group over many months to work through the contracting process in a timely manner ahead of the Rugby World Cup’, insisting they had now ‘concluded’ contract discussions with all members of the World Cup training squad.
