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Despite losing three out of three games in the tournament WXV Global Series so far, Scotland Interim head coach Dave Butcher believes the team is “moving in the right direction”.
The Scots go Australia today for their two remaining WXV Global Series matches against the Wallaroos on October 17 and 23, who continued to suffer from a poor second half in which they were beaten 30-10 by the same opposition in Edinburgh in their last game on September 26 and led 10-5 at the interval.
Scotland have now lost seven games on the trot in all competitions, but Butcher is looking at the bigger picture and feels the side are beginning to rediscover their identity which seemed to have fallen off a cliff both on and off the pitch during the Guinness Women’s competition. Six Nations period earlier in the year under previous head coach Sione Fukofuk.
Butcher, who joined the organization earlier this year and spent several months working alongside Fukofuka and his also-departed senior assistant coach Ioan Cunningham, is enjoying being part of the rebuild so much that he admitted talks have already begun with the Scottish rugby hierarchy about potentially taking on the head coaching role on a permanent basis.
That would get the thumbs up from players who have enjoyed working with Butcher so far – indeed, many have said so on the record – and who crave stability on the women’s road Rugby World Cup In 2029, after a year of chopping and changing the coaching staff.
“We talked about it (becoming head coach), but the priority is the next two games,” Butcher said Tuesday.
“When I took over as interim head coach, there were some immediate pieces that we had to work on. The environment was great and Rachel (Malcolm, team captain), the senior management group and the assistant coaches that came in were a big part of turning things around.
“We talked about the future, but the focus now is on the immediate, and then, after WXV, then we can look at it in a little more detail.
“It’s nice when your players say that (positive things about you), obviously it’s the biggest recognition.
“At the end of the day, the only reason we’re here as coaches is for the players, so everything we do has to focus on the players and the way we want to play. It’s great to hear they’re enjoying things.”
“I think a player’s focus should be on every match and my focus has to be on the bigger picture. If I ever get stuck just looking from match to match then we’re probably going to fall.”
“When you put Velcro on your chest, you should want, with every part of your being, to win every game.
“My job now is to develop our style of play and identity to allow us to get results.
“It could happen in the next two games or it could happen when we get into the Six Nations early next year, but we have a very clear picture of how we want to go forward and how we want to play with the players we have.”
Butcher and co had time away from the area last week after seven consecutive weeks together and were back together on Tuesday before traveling to the final two Tests of the year in Sydney and Canberra.
Four defeats in the Women’s Six Nations after their first win against Wales followed by home WXV Global losses to Canada, New Zealand and Australia were divided by the departure of Australia’s Fukofuka on August 3 due to family and personal reasons.
Scottish Rugby were surprised when he was then appointed Wallaroos head coach just eight days later and, although he does not officially take up the role until January, the move certainly adds intrigue to this upcoming tour.
Asked for his views on Fukofuku taking on a new role so soon after leaving Scotland, Butcher stated: “Surprised but whatever he wants to do is fine with me.
“The biggest part for me was ‘is there any carryover to our team from what happened?’ and I don’t think it was.
“We hit the reset button and said we’re going to do things the way we think they should be done going forward based on input from the players, my preconceptions about what high performance rugby looks like and the coaches we’ve brought in.
“It was then about ‘how do we want to play the Scottish identity game?’
“Did I give him (Fukofuka’s move) a lot of room to think? Not really.
“I would never call it my team, it’s our team, it’s primarily a playing team, I’m just there, showing the direction and blowing the whistle.
“It’s great to hear Rachel, the captain and the players say they feel like we’re starting to get our identity on the pitch because that’s where everything is pointing.
“We align everything with how we play on the pitch and how we play as a Scottish team.
“And I feel we are moving towards being what we want our Scotland team to be.”