- 30-point margin of success is a new record for the Scots against their Celtic rivals
- Victory was a revenge of sorts for Scotland after losing in World Cup opener three years ago to a last-minute penalty against the same opposition
- Bryan Easson’s side are now in a strong position to qualify, while Wales must now realistically beat Canada – ranked No2 in the world – to do so
Player of the match Francesca McGhie dazzled with a hat-trick of tries as Scotland put in a performance full of pace and power to defeat Wales with a bonus point and get off to a perfect start in their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign.
Most pundits felt this match in Manchester between the sides ranked eighth and ninth in the world was going to be tight all the way, but Scotland had other ideas and were in control for large parts.
This victory at the Salford Community Stadium was the Scots’ first in this competition since 2010 versus Sweden — and their biggest ever versus Wales — and it gives them a great chance of a top-two finish in Pool B and a quarter-final spot.
Captain Rachel Malcolm said: ‘On both sides of the ball, this was a great team performance.
‘There was just a bit of an inevitability about what we were doing. It felt like when they had the ball we were always going to get it back and it felt like when we had the ball we were going to score. I thought we were really clinical.
‘The belief we showed and that confidence to put in an 80-minute performance is something that we’ve just been building towards.
McGhe celebrates her side’s second try of the match
Captain Malcolm is hoisted into the air at full-time as Scotland celebrate their victory
‘It’s been simmering in our camp and we’ve been talking about it and we’ve been talking about what we can achieve.
‘In the lead up to the game we were not focused on Wales, we were focused on ourselves and what we know we can achieve — and we showed that during the performance.’
In terms of what the team can now achieve in the competition going forward, back-row Malcolm added: ‘We are obviously pleased by the win, but we are not looking too far ahead at all. We need to think purely about the next game and that is Fiji next Saturday.’
After that Fiji contest Scotland play world No 2 Canada, who defeated Fiji 65-7 yesterday, in Exeter on September 6, but for now they can enjoy this benchmark win. Bryan Easson’s side got off to a flying start when stand-off Helen Nelson set up winger McGhie for an unconverted try within 60 seconds.
Wales levelled things up after 13 minutes when their co-captain Alex Callender went over for an unconverted try.
In the 17th minute, the Scots worked the ball well through the phases and when centre Lisa Thomson found McGhie on the edge she went over for her second unconverted try to make it 10-5.
McGhie leaves Lisa Neumann trailing in her wake as she crosses for Scotland’s opening try
Wales scrum-half Keira Bevan nudged over three points to claw Wales back into things but, nine minutes before half-time, Scotland’s third try came when scrum-half Leia Brebner-Holden went over for her first-ever score for her country, with Nelson converting.
Things got even better for the Scots after 43 minutes when 22-year-old McGhie went over for her third try — her 13th for her country — and when Nelson converted it was 24-8 and the bonus point was in the bag.
After 53 minutes, Wales second-row Gwen Crabb was yellow carded, but by the time she returned the score was still the same.
Try five did come for Scotland a few moments later though when No 8 Evie Gallagher, who turned 25 on Friday, went over and Nelson converted.
Centre Emma Orr added Scotland’s sixth try late on and Nelson once again converted to put the icing on the cake.
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Scotland 38 Wales 8: McGhie hits a hat-trick as Scots women open World Cup campaign with resounding win