Scotland head coach Bryan Easson says his side are looking to ‘make their mark on the world stage’ with an improved performance at the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Easson, who will leave his role post tournament, wants Scotland to bounce back from their disappointment of the last World Cup campaign — which saw his side defeated in all of their pool games in New Zealand.

The Scots, who kick off against Wales next weekend, head into the competition on the back of two defeats against Italy and Ireland, but Easson is adamant his side are in a better place, as they prepare for their Cup opener in England.

‘I think we have improved,’ Easson insisted.

‘If you look at the last two or three years, we’ve been in the games. Every game we go into now, we expect to win. We’ve got real belief in the group, we’ve got real belief in each other.

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson with captain Rachel Malcolm

Scotland players gathered for the squad announcement in St Andrews this week

‘There’s some really, really good rugby players, some world-class rugby players in there as well, and it’s our job to make sure that everybody is singing off the same hymn sheet.

‘Yes, we do want to make our mark on the world stage. It’s a World Cup, and we don’t want to just go and enjoy it and make up the numbers.’

Defeats to Wales, Australia and New Zealand at the previous iteration undoubtedly still rankles.

Leaving without a win was a serious blow — and Easson admits his side were well below-par in the matches they played out.

‘I’ll be honest, I was really frustrated after the last World Cup in New Zealand, because I didn’t think we were good enough.

‘We’ve probably changed our prep around this one a little bit. We probably did too much prep-wise and then when we got there it was kind of “We’re here now”, whereas we’ve kind of built up and it’s about the event now. We’ve learned a lot around that and I think we’re in a pretty good spot.’

Certainly, Scotland have gained a well of experience since their trip to the Southern Hemisphere. As well as a brief stint at No 5 in the world, they’ve taken home the WXV2 title in Canada, and had a run of seven wins on the trot in 2023 and 2024.

They now prepare for a stint against Wales, Fiji and Canada in Pool B, with a challenging opener against the Welsh — a side they beat 24-21 in this year’s Six Nations. That, however, could count for little on the day — as Wales continue to improve under head coach, Sean Lynn.

‘Scotland-Wales games are always difficult,’ admitted the Scotland coach.

‘These games have been tight over the last few years.

Scotland play Six Nations foes Wales in their first World Cup match on Saturday August 23

‘We know how physical Wales are. We know exactly what to expect. We’ve played against them I don’t know how many times recently.

‘We’ve played them before at WXV as well. We know each other inside out. The players play against each other, whether it be Celtic Challenge or PWR. So we know it’s going to be physical. We know it’s going to come down to 80 minutes.

‘The last World Cup game was 82 minutes. Six Nations games have been 78, 79, 80 minutes as well. The girls have worked really hard on the fitness.

‘You saw it from the game against Italy. We finished off really well. We saw the game against Ireland and we started really well.

‘I feel we’re in a good space. We are well prepared and we just want to go now.’

According to Easson, the arrival of attack coach Steve Shingler is already making an impact. The former player came in to Scottish Rugby in June, on secondment from PWR side Ealing Trailfinders Women, and Easson says the ex-Scarlets, London Irish, Cardiff, Mont-de-Marsan and Trailfinders man has impressed so far in his work within the Scotland camp.

‘Yes, he has,’ expressed Easson.

‘I like the way he works. Obviously, we’ve sat down quite a lot.

‘The two of us have worked quite closely, looking at our strengths in terms of individuals. We’ve designed a lot of plays around certain individuals and how we want to look at stuff. But obviously, a lot of plays are designed around what we’ve seen in Wales, too.

‘We’ve not given too much away in terms of Italy and Ireland. We’ve looked at some shapes and structures, but you’ve got to keep some stuff up your sleeve as well.’

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson will step down after the tournament

That, indeed, could prove critical when it comes to their pool dynamics. Canada are roundly being seen as the tournament’s ‘dark horses’, and will be confident of topping their group. Scotland’s match against Wales therefore, could prove pivotal in terms of progression to the quarter-finals.

The top two from each pool make it through to the last eight in the 16-team tournament, and a quarter-final place is achievable for Easson’s team.

‘Yes, of course. World Cups are different, aren’t they, because you do get the opportunity in pre-season to get your squad together for a little bit longer,’ he said. ‘Going into a Six Nations you potentially have a week to two weeks maximum.

‘We have had five, six weeks together plus two Test matches, so eight or nine weeks to be able to look at our fitness and the way we want to play. We obviously don’t want to play exactly the way we did in the Six Nations. We’ve looked at our strengths and weaknesses. Wales are doing the same.

‘We’ve focused on Wales. We’re not looking beyond Wales. We’re not looking at Fiji or Canada — we’re looking at the first one and then we’ll move on after that.

‘We know the challenge that’s ahead of us. And we’re not taking it lightly and I’m sure Wales are the same.’