Top eight ranking crucial for World Cup – Scotland women head coach Easson

Head coach Bryan Easson says it’s crucial Scotland maintain their position in the top eight of the world rankings before the draw next month for the 2025 World Cup in England.

The Scots are currently sixth in the global standings, with last Friday’s six-try win over Wales edging them closer to fifth-placed Australia.

Ahead of this Friday’s meeting with Fiji, which is live on the BBC Sport app, website and iPlayer, Easson wants his team to maintain the momentum created by nine wins in their last 12 Tests.

“I think we keep doing what we’re doing at the moment,” he said.

“It’s not about saying, ‘Right, we’re going to go after this team or after that team’. Top eight in the world is really important for us pre-Rugby World Cup draw because obviously pushing for the top two pots, that’s a real focus for us.

“The way to do that is just to keep winning. Performance sports are about winning, international rugby is about winning.

“And it’s about pushing the players on the training field and obviously putting a little bit of pressure on each other to get that starting position.

“When you’ve got that pressure and pushing each other, that does push us even better into these performances.”