There was a maturity to the way Scotland kept a feisty Fiji at arm’s length to seal the victory that booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
It is the first time the Scots have reached the last eight since 2002, and in the 23 years since they have often lacked the nous they demonstrated so admirably in Salford.
Rhona Lloyd has been there and done it all with Scotland, enjoyed the highs and endured the lows, and after the game her mind wandered back to a particularly grim time for Scotland Women when they lost a two-legged World Cup play-off to Spain in 2016.
“A lot of the faces here, they were at the last World Cup, they were there when we didn’t qualify against Spain,” Lloyd, who scored two tries against Fiji, told My Newspaper Scotland.
“So for us to now be qualifying for quarter-finals, really putting Scotland on the map, sitting at sixth in the world, it means the world.
“We want to inspire the next generation and the longer we stay in this competition, the more opportunities we have to do that.”
Lloyd and the free-scoring Francesca McGhie – who now has five tries in two games at this tournament – each grabbed a double, but it was Emma Orr’s wonderful solo score that was the pick of the bunch and capped an outstanding individual performance.
Orr’s fingerprints were all over some of Scotland’s best moments. It was her clever kick through that set up McGhie’s first try. The centre pounced on a loose ball to turn defence into an attack that ultimately led to Lloyd crossing for her second try.
Orr’s try will be on the shortlist for the best of the tournament, but it was also the more subtle elements of her game that caught the eye. For a 22-year-old, her defensive reads are the type you would expect of a wise old veteran.
“Emma Orr is just a phenomenal talent,” Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm told My Newspaper Scotland.
“She’s as humble as they come, but she is up there for me as one of the best players in the world now and has been since she burst onto the scene.
“The exciting thing is just how young she is and how much better she’s probably going to keep getting.
“She’s one of those runners that’s so graceful, can keep her feet even on a slippy day with people chomping at her feet.
“She’s just a phenomenal player. I think she’s someone that we kind of get a lot of confidence from around her, just having her on the ball.”
Scotland’s backs have accounted for 10 of the 11 tries they have scored at this World Cup, more than any other team in the tournament.
The X-factor from the likes of Orr, McGhie and Lloyd is coming to the fore, but they are being allowed to flourish by the grunt work being done up front, most notably against Fiji by the player of the match Evie Gallagher.
As they shuffled through the media mixed zone after the match, there were some sore bodies after the physicality Fiji brought to the match, though the players stressed that was exactly the sort of attritional battle they needed ahead of their Pool B decider against Canada in Exeter next weekend.
The Canadians are ranked number two in the world and have demonstrated why with two thumping victories over Fiji and Wales.
The Scots will go in as big underdogs, but the way the confidence is building in this group, they will quietly fancy their chances of springing a huge shock.
“Canada are the second best team in the world for a reason,” Scotland head coach Bryan Easson told My Newspaper Scotland.
“They’re athletes right across the pitch, one to 15, and with a bench as well.
“We know what to expect, we’ll prepare accordingly for that.
“This group have gone through two, not just physical battles, but emotional battles as well. We’ve built up emotionally to play Wales, it was an emotional battle to get back up and play another game like this.
“We’ll look at Canada, we understand there’s a real physical battle coming, but we look forward to that, because we do have an opportunity to top the group if we play to our potential.”
