Scotland made a winning start to their IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign with a hard fought 24-0 defeat of Spain at a windy St Albert RFC in Edmonton, Canada.
The game though was closer than the score line suggests with some resolute defending by Spain keeping the game scoreless until hooker Iona Frickleton bulldozed her way over for the opening try in the 26th minute.
The majority of the first half was spent in Spain’s area of the field and within minutes of Frickleton’s try, Scotland claimed a second when full back Lucy Millard evaded several defenders to run in down the touch line.
Captain Paula Chalmers converted the try before each team had a player sin-binned – wing Raquel Socías for Spain in the 32nd minute and prop Karen Findlay seven minutes later for Scotland.
Scotland led 12-0 at half-time – an advantage which was quickly increased after Rhona Shepherd burst through the Spanish defence to claim her side’s third try a minute into the second half.
Spain though refused to give the match up despite trailing 19-0 and mounted a prolonged attack which kept Scotland pinned deep in their own half. They held firm though and relieved the pressure with some kicks to touch.
The final say in the match came from Chalmers, the scrum half racing away with several defenders hot on her heels to score Scotland’s fourth try in the last minute of a game played before an enthusiastic crowd.
QUOTES
Scotland captain Paula Chalmers: “We worked hard for each other. It was all 15 of us out there working for each other. In the first half we had a lot of pressure and had a lot of possession. We put a lot of pressure on Spain and we managed to get two tries from it.
“In the second half we struggled to get field possession and it was really difficult for us and it sapped all of our energy and the game kind of went a bit scrappy, but we battled hard to the end. Our focus was to get four tries and we weren't giving up until we did.”
Scotland wing Rhona Shepherd: “In order to be number one we have to keep pulling performances out of the bag. We've got to keep scoring tries and we've got to keep causing our opposition a lot of trouble. As long as we keep doing that we've got a shot at winning it.”
Spain captain Isabel Rodríguez: “We came out and played better in the second half but it wasn't enough. It's the first game of the tournament, it’s the Rugby World Cup and of course there is some nervousness. We tried hard, but we just couldn't do anything.”