Auld enemies to old news, but Scotland aim to reignite rivalry

Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final: England v Scotland

Venue: Ashton Gate, Bristol Date: Sunday 14 September Kick-off: 16:00 BST

Coverage: Live on BBC One, Sports Extra Two and BBC Sport website and app

To get an idea of how long ago Scotland last beat England, read a Scotland on Sunday column that appeared the same year.

"It hardly seems sensible for girls to want to take part in this particularly brutal contact sport," wrote celebrated journalist Jack McLean.

"Why girls of teenage years wish to eschew such adolescent delights as make-up, nice clothes, elaborate hair-dos and mooning about after boys of a Saturday afternoon in favour of brawling in the glaur of a wet Scottish playing field in the winter is beyond me."

And he was one of women's rugby's more supportive observers at the time.

Not quite the Stone Age, but we are now more than a quarter of a century distant from Scotland's last success over their neighbours.

Scotland edged to an 8-5 victory in the 1998 Home Nations - a precursor to the Women's Six Nations - and then took a 15-13 win in a third-place play-off at the European Championship in Italy a year later.

Donna Kennedy, Scotland's most capped player, played in both.

"We were a very good, strong side at that time," she told BBC Sport.

"But we were still always the underdogs, because England have always been good at what they do. Even back then they were the team to beat.

"That game in 1999 - up a mountain in Italy - was really tight.

"It was very much an up-front battle in the forwards. I can remember it being quite a feisty game.

"The game has changed now, but back then you could still put a boot on and ruck someone out."

Scotland have not been able to lay so much as a glove on England since however.

Instead it has been one-way traffic, with the Red Roses juggernaut steaming through Scotland again and again.

England have played Scotland 34 times in total, and, apart from those two defeats from another millennia, have won every time.

In the past five meetings, the average points difference between the teams has stretched to nearly 50.

The Auld Enemy has become old news; a rivalry devoid of jeopardy, a bitter punchline delivered on repeat for the Scots.

Kennedy believes the current gap between the teams is due to three things; structure, investment and raw numbers.

"There are a lot more players in England, firstly," she says.

"Secondly, it is the pathways for players to become internationals. England set them up early on. They were ahead of every nation in that, not just Scotland.

"England were a lot quicker off the mark with investing in both sevens and XVs, which then feeds into domestic rugby. You don't just become an international player, you have to come though those clubs."

Kennedy is hopeful that the Celtic Challenge, a cross-border club competition with teams from Scotland, Ireland and Wales that launched in 2023, can provide a proving ground to rival England's PWR in time.

Scotland have steadily improved in recent years, but their World Cup build-up was knocked by the announcement that long-time head coach Bryan Easson would depart at the end of the campaign and uncertainty over contract renewals.

A side that has risen from 12th in the world rankings in 2019 to sixth now, that sparkled in the pool stages, seeing off Wales and Fiji and scaring Canada, doesn't deserve such an unsettled situation.

"We have made such a good leap forward in last five to six years, why would we let go of that now?" added Kennedy.

"The team are going out there and showing what they can do. Let's make sure we have everything behind them to help them continue.

"You have to back up a team that is competing on the world stage.

"There is the platform now and we have to use our voices.

"I know there have been conversations with Scottish Rugby and I believe headway has been made. They have to get those contracts right, not just for the players that are there now, but also for the talent coming though.

"This can't be a one-hit wonder. There must be continuity, investment and commitment. It has to be talked about all the time. And if it is not, I will probably be one of the first people to shout about it."

Kennedy will be at Ashton Gate on Sunday, shouting for Scotland on the pitch as they attempt to shock the hosts and the world.

"There will be belief in that team, there is no doubt about it," said Kennedy.

"No-one takes the field thinking they are going to lose. Whatever the record, you still believe as a player."

The outfit in which Kennedy celebrated victories over England in her own playing days will sadly not feature however.

"Back in 1998, we had this outfit with tartan trews, a pinky lilac shirt, and these tartan waistcoats, which we were so proud of," Kennedy remembers.

"After the game we all rushed to get into that. We got back to the clubhouse, stood there in our pride and joy and sang the national anthem. And England actually joined in!

"That is the beauty of the game, the joy of rugby. They recognised we had played better than them that day. That was the sportsmanship, celebrating the game together.

"Those trousers are still somewhere, but I certainly couldn't fit in them now."

Scotland will hope the scoreline is similarly tight as it was back then in the closing stages on Sunday. And then that long-ago history can be repeated once again.