CAN 40-19 SCO: Scotland reaction (head coach Easson, captain Malcolm)

Comments by Scotland head coach Bryan Easson and captain Rachel Malcolm after their 40-19 defeat by Canada in their final match in Pool B at Sandy Park on Saturday.

Bryan Easson, head coach

On his feelings on the match:

“Frustrated a little bit. I thought we played really well. We went to tie to tie with the second best team in the world and I thought we created a lot of opportunities, we stayed in the fight until the end. When you make small errors against one of the top sides in the world, they capitalise. That’s what happened - 10 minutes before half-time [there was] the yellow card, penalty try. These little things make massive differences. The scoreline doesn’t reflect the game. I thought we stuck in the game but those small errors let them in.”

On ticking off his targets:

“We have done that. We came to qualify for the quarter-finals. We knew this would be a very difficult game for us. We’ve got the quarter-finals, we’re top six in the world so I would say we’re making real progress.”

On preparing to potentially play England:

“How exciting. It’s a World Cup quarter-final against England in their own competition. It’s Scotland-England, it’s always a challenge for us. We  do know them well. We will rest, there will be some sore bodies. We have picked a familiar side for the last three games. We have a good recipe at the moment. We’ll get ready for the big one next week.”

Rachel Malcolm, Scotland captain

On the emotion of going through despite defeat:

“Hugely disappointed. There’s a little bit of pride in there because pretty much everyone in world rugby thought he had no chance today and we proved that we could have done it. There were key turning points in the game that went their way and when you’re playing a top-two side in the world you have to make the most of those opportunities. We came into this game and we said every opportunity we had to take it. I’m proud but we just didn’t make enough of them.”

On potentially playing England next:

“Whoever we were going to play in that next round, it’s going to be a tough challenge. We have shown that we can go up against the best and test them and challenge them. We just need to work hard to create more of those opportunities. We’ve had a fantastic three weeks. I’m so proud of the growth in this team. We’ve got a massive challenge ahead of us. We are so excited for that challenge and we are going to use it for energy.”

On how determined she is for the team’s journey not to end at the quarter-final stage:

“I could not be more determined.”