'No fear': Scotland ready to embrace new era under third head coach in a year
First game in charge is against a familiar foe
Dave Butcher’s reign as Scotland Women’s interim head coach begins on Saturday with the toughest of tests against Canada but the new boss insists there is “no fear” about facing the Rugby World Cup finalists.
Familiarity will help. Butcher used to be the Canadians’ forwards coach and their players and staff are well known to him. But his attitude also demonstrates the faith he has in his own squad.
It’s been a turbulent year for the Scottish team who saw long-serving coach Bryan Easson leave after the 2025 World Cup and his replacement, Sione Fukofuka, come and go within seven months.
Butcher, who had been brought on board as forwards coach under Fukofuka, has now stepped up to the top job. He has spent the last three weeks working with the squad and said that time had been hugely important in terms of embedding ideas and understanding the culture. Whether it will be enough to cause an upset against the side ranked third in the world remains to be seen.
‘Embrace it’
It is the first of three consecutive home games for Scotland in the WXV Global Series, with New Zealand and Australia also due to play at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh over the next couple of weeks. It is an exacting schedule but one Butcher believes the squad should relish.
“We embrace it,” he said. “We want to go and play against teams like that. There's no fear from us. There's more excitement about what we can go and do. If we were against a lesser team, would we really be able to challenge ourselves and know where we are? Maybe not.”
Canada are familiar foes for Scotland who played them in their final pool game at last year’s World Cup in England. The Canadians won 40-19 at Sandy Park and then beat Australia in the quarter-finals and New Zealand in the semis before losing 33-13 to England in the final at Twickenham.
“We know what's coming down the pipe with Canada,” added Butcher. “They're a very, very good team, very well coached, great athletes. Most of the players play against them week in, week out [in England’s PWR], so we've got really good knowledge of them. But even off the back of today, there's a massive amount of excitement.
“There's no real anxiety or fear. It's how hard can we push ourselves? What are we going to do? Can we then show this on the field? It's very much a performance focus, pointing fingers right in at us at the moment. Recognise that they're a great team, but it doesn't affect how we're going about our day-to-day business at the minute.”
Boosted by captain’s return
Scotland are bolstered by the return from injury of the influential Rachel Malcolm who will captain the team. She has not played since the heavy home defeat by England in this year’s Six Nations and is joined in the back row by Evie Gallagher who has recovered from a hamstring tear and will make her first Scotland appearance in almost a year.
There is a first Test start for Rhea Clarke, who has been selected at scrum-half, and potential debuts off the bench for Ceitidh Ainsworth, the Glasgow Warriors halfback, and Katie Buchanan, the Exeter Chiefs wing who is a former England Under-20 international but has switched allegiance and qualifies for Scotland through her maternal grandmother, who was from the Gorbals.
A number of senior players are missing through injury but Butcher is confident the likes of Leah Brebner-Holden, Elis Martin, Evie Wills, Sarah Bonar, Rachel McLachlan and Holland Bogan could all be available for either the game against New Zealand on September 19 or Australia a week later. However, Lucia Scott, Alex Stewart, Francesca McGhie, Emily Coubrough and Lisa Thomson have been ruled out for the three-game series at Hive Stadium.
Butcher is delighted to have Malcolm available again and hopes his squad can go out and express themselves against Canada following a disappointing Six Nations campaign which saw Scotland win just one of five games.
“I want to see our identity coming out in the way we play,” said Butcher. “I know that's very easy to say, but it was something that myself and Rachel talked about coming into the actual campaign, about how can we really drive the identity of who we are through the way we play?
“We want to play a multi-phase game that's really, really fast and enjoyable for the players to play and the people to watch. But we also want to have that real hard edge that Scotland teams have.”
The match will be broadcast live on BBC Alba and BBC iPlayer.
Teams for Scotland v Canada
Scotland v Canada, WXV Global Series, Hive Stadium, Saturday, 4.10pm.
Scotland: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Rachel Philipps, Meryl Smith, Shona Campbell; Helen Nelson, Rhea Clarke; Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon, Elliann Clarke, Emma Wassell, Hollie Cunningham, Rachel Malcolm (capt), Evie Gallagher, Becky Boyd. Replacements: Aicha Sutcliffe, Anne Young, Molly Poolman, Eva Donaldson, Adelle Ferrie, Ceitidh Ainsworth, Hannah Ramsay, Katie Buchanan.
Canada: Claire Gallagher; Fancy Bermudez, Florence Symonds, Alexandra Tessier (capt), Charity Williams; Taylor Perry, Olivia Apps; Brittany Kassil, Kiki Idowu, DaLeaka Menin, Rachel Smith, Laetitia Royer, Julia Omokhuale, Lizzie Gibson, Gabrielle Senft. Replacements: Emily Tuttosi, Sophie McDonald, Brooke Rempel, Sophie de Goede, Pamphinette Buisa, Justine Pelletier, Savannah Bauder, Asia Hogan-Rochester.
Referee: Holly Wood (RFU).
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