That much was clear to see in round one of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, as Scotland claimed a first Test win against Wales in Cardiff in two decades. They looked resolute in defence, repelling wave after wave of red shirts, and at times were razor-sharp in attack. It was a continuation of the form that won them the inaugural WXV2 title in South Africa back in October, and led to Scotland rising to their highest ever position in the world rankings.
The truth is that Easson felt buoyed going into this year’s Championship for several reasons. A much-needed hit-out against the Springboks formed part of their preparations, and Easson and his coaching team were pleased with what they saw. Meanwhile, Scotland’s leadership group has helped the new players integrate seamlessly into the squad for what will be a huge few weeks to come.
“We’ve got six leaders who represent the whole group,” says the former Caledonia Reds and Exeter Chiefs fly-half. “We want to be very much player-led rather than coach-led, to empower the group. That’s probably the strength of where we are, and we’re growing because we’ve had a bit of consistency in selection and in our management team as well. All this means we can start to evolve.”
Speaking of leaders, Easson has one of the finest in the game in Rachel Malcolm, back rower and captain. “Rachel is a good person, that’s probably the most important thing,” he believes. “It’s a people game. She bases her leadership around relationships. She spends time with people and is brilliant around the new players too.
“But her greatest strength is probably the way she talks. When she speaks, you listen. It’s not just blood and thunder; there’s really good detail in what she says, and she speaks from the heart. She’s very passionate about Scotland.”
When Easson states that he is all about empowering his players, he means it. And for good reason. “I think the rugby is a byproduct of the environment you create,” he explains. “‘Culture’ is a buzzword, but it is about environments, behaviours. We tell the players that the team room is theirs, the changing room is theirs, and how they behave in there will reflect how they train. How they train will then reflect in how they play. So they drive their culture and behaviours.
“We’ve obviously got our goals and values that we all work together towards. The players will drive management behaviours and vice versa. That’s why you can see a real togetherness amongst us; a family feel, which makes it a joy to work together.”
A veritable brains trust makes up the Scottish coaching team. Gathered around Easson are Premiership Rugby Hall of Famer Matt Banahan (skills and attack), Heineken Cup winner Martin Haag (forwards) and former Western Province back rower Tyrone Holmes (defence).
“I’ve got a really good coaching group with a lot of experience,” Easson says. “The four of us together work really hard on our coaching philosophy and bounce ideas off one another. We get on really well, but we also challenge each other, and that rubs off on the players.”
Although Scotland won’t be dwelling on their impressive against-the-odds victory at Cardiff Arms Park, they should at least be allowed a moment to reflect on how far they’ve come in a short space of time under their head coach. “We’ve had moments of ups and downs. It’s been a bumpy road,” he admits. “But we talk about those bumps being an opportunity and we choose to take these opportunities in order to grow as a group.
“To see these girls out in South Africa during the WXV2 was really good. You get some huge highs, but some deep lows too. The satisfaction for me comes from seeing the team gelling together, the youngsters coming in and growing the group.”
The social side of things have been a key ingredient, adds Easson. "We had a ceilidh out in South Africa where we got Matt Banahan to strip the willow [a Scottish country dance], which was brilliant. That’s the kind of group we’ve got: we enjoy each other’s company, but we’re now beginning to see the results of that on the field as well.”
They are now undefeated in seven games. France are next up on Saturday at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, in what will be Scotland’s biggest challenge since the teams last met just over a year ago.
If Scotland can reproduce the spirit they displayed in Cardiff, the outcome should prove far less one-sided than the one we saw at the Stade de la Rabine in Vannes.
