Why Scotland no longer want to be plucky underdogs

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Scotland out to prove point against Wales - Wassell

Scotland have leaned into the role of underdogs to push women's rugby in their country forward enormously in the past few years. Now they want to be viewed as a team to be feared.

Emma Wassell has been at the heart of that story and the heartbeat of the team since making her international debut in 2014.

Her early Test matches were played out in front crowds in the low three figures.

Later this month, she will run out at Murrayfield in front of 25,000 fans - a figure that might yet rise - when the Scots take on world champions England. It will be a record crowd for a standalone women's sporting event in Scotland.

Wassell and her team-mates have been fighting for respect on multiple fronts for a long time, whether that be from opposing teams or from their employers.

They've wanted a fair crack from Scottish Rugby when it comes to contracts, resources and all the different kinds of support a team needs to compete.

As Scotland prepare to face Wales in Saturday's Women's Six Nations opener at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, Wassell's mind may wander back to the reverse fixture in 2017.

The Scots edged a tight affair 15-14 at Broadwood Stadium. It was their first Six Nations victory in seven years. They have made significant strides since then.

A one or two-win Six Nations is no longer hailed as a roaring success, and coming off an encouraging World Cup last year in which they reached the quarter-finals, the team no longer wish to be viewed as the plucky underdogs with nothing to lose.

"When you're labelled an underdog, you probably take a little bit of the pressure off you," Wassell told BBC Scotland. "But I believe we have that pressure to perform and succeed now.

"It might seem cliched, but it really is a privilege to have that level of pressure. It's about going out and doing it. I'm so proud to see the growing fan base and the crowds that we're getting, but what I truly care about is winning for Scotland."

'We feel like we've been listened to'

At the start of a new World Cup cycle and with a new coaching team in place, there's a sense of a new page being turned in this Scotland set-up.

Bryan Easson departed after five years following that quarter-final exit to England, with former United States head coach Sione Fukofuka taking over.

Captain Rachel Malcolm says Scotland want to get to the stage of "fighting in that top four, top five in the world", but warns with a new coach and a host of new players, the team may have to endure a step back to take a few forward.

Thankfully the build-up to this Six Nations has been less stressful than prior to the World Cup, when the squad were angered by a perceived lack of respect over contracts that left several players facing unemployment after the tournament.

Malcolm was in the thick of it as captain and spokesman, in negotiations with the Scottish Rugby hierarchy and in outlining the players' position to the media.

Clearly not all the scars have healed - especially for those players left without a contract - but the mood music sounds a lot better than it did a few months ago.

"There is no-one in a position right now as stressful as those girls were put in, which is exactly what I want as a captain. I really want our focus and our energy to be going into the rugby," Malcolm told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

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'Scotland v Wales will be spicy' - Nelson

"I can honestly say that we are not there anymore. The discussions have been positive. We feel like we've been listened to. One of the biggest things that we asked for was just to be involved in the conversation and to not be kind of blindsided.

"The process has been a lot more gradual. There's been different stages to it and a little bit more upfront in terms of what contributed to decisions and how that process happened. That makes a big difference and goes a long way."

In the build-up to Scotland's previous meeting with Wales - the World Cup pool opener in August - much of the chat was how little there was between the sides, with most recent matches decided by a score or less.

Some described it as the tightest rivalry in Test rugby. Nobody saw Scotland's thumping 38-8 victory coming.

It was arguably one of their greatest displays, but for every bit of satisfaction the Scots took from that day in Salford, Wales will have banked a whole load of pain and regret.

They will be out for revenge in front of their own people at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

"You can never underestimate Wales," said fly-half Helen Nelson. "It's always spicy between us. So we're not going in kind of expecting it to be an easy game or anything like that. It will be an absolute battle."