SCOTLAND’s women’s rugby team have it all to do if they are to reach the 2017 World Cup after losing the first leg of their play-off tie against Spain 10-5 at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow last night.

Scotland went into this double-header as the underdogs, with Spain ranked number nine in the world, four places above Scotland in 13th place, but the Scots put up an all mighty fight.

The match started off well for Scotland with the home team playing confidently but it was Spain who were first to get points on the board. A penalty was awarded against the Scots in the 11th minute and Spain duly converted.

Scotland continued to dominate possession but it took them until the half-hour mark to score their first points of the match. A patient and well-crafted move resulted in Deborah McCormack scoring the first try of the game to put Scotland 5-3 ahead. Spain hit back almost immediately, though, scoring a try and conversion to go into half-time 10-5 ahead.

A somewhat slow start from Scotland in the second half gave Spain a number of chances but the Scots soon regained their intensity of the first half and put more pressure on the Spaniards.

However, despite a few close calls, Scotland were unable to convert their pressure into points and the scoreboard remained stagnant for the entire second half, giving Spain a first leg victory and leaving the Scots on the back foot as they go into the second leg in Madrid next Saturday.

Man of the match from Scotland, Helen Nelson, was upbeat in the aftermath though, despite her team’s defeat. “It was a good game but it was just those little errors,” the number 10 said.

“We had a lot of pressure but we just struggled to get those points on the board. We’ll get it next week, though, it’s definitely a game we can win.”