Blacklock savouring every second of maiden World Cup

Beth Blacklock had to wait over two years between Scotland appearances but she is making up for lost time at her first World Cup.

The centre, who can also operate at fly-half, had to sit out 20 international matches, both due to injury and missing out on selection for the matchday 23, between April 2023 and August 2025. 

That all changed as she played in Scotland’s warm-up loss to Ireland before coming off the bench in her side’s barnstorming win over Wales in their World Cup opener. 

"It's a tough one with rugby,” the 27-year-old said. “Obviously, injuries always come. It's really difficult when you're not in the environment because you know there are so many small conversations that go on that you've missed. 

“It's one of those things. You do need to think of the bigger picture, and the World Cup is always the goal. 

"We have smaller tournaments in between, and it's hard mentally to get through not being selected for those, or being injured.  

“You have lows in sports. You just always need to remember 'I'm choosing to do this, no matter the good and the bad side of it', which would be the same with any career that you choose.  

“As much as you have the really hard moments, the dream is the goal and the second that you get there, there's just no question of it, 100 per cent I would go through all of that again." 

In both her positions, Blacklock faces stiff competition. Emma Orr and Lisa Thomson shone in midfield in Salford on Saturday, while Helen Nelson was her customary dependable self at fly-half. 

The Essex-born player came on for her World Cup debut in the 68th minute, replacing Thomson with the game all but won. 

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She said: “It was so surreal being able to be at the World Cup, but then to actually play was incredible. 

“Waking up in the morning, I had a sauna and ice, just to keep the emotions in and make it a normal day. I was calm, collected, cool in the morning, and went on a bit of a walk just to have some fresh air and stay grounded.  

“Then, as you go through your meals, it's again trying to keep those nerves down so that you can actually get some food in, otherwise you're just going to have no energy when you get there.  

“When you're on the bus on the way there, there's just no way of being able to not have those nerves because you've just had your team talk, you've just been geared up by Bryan [Easson, head coach].  

“When you get off the bus with the fans, it's just incredible. So, from that point it's, 'OK, I'm going to play, so let's get some caffeine in'.” 

Scotland scored six tries in their win over Wales, with Francesca McGhie scoring a hat-trick, to take a huge step towards making the quarter-finals for the first time. 

And while Blacklock is able to remember clearly the hours and minutes leading up to the moment she stepped onto the pitch, don’t ask her what happened once she was playing. 

“It was a complete whirlwind,” Blacklock said. “It's really hard to process anything of what's just happened. 

“Surreal was the best word to explain the crowd. It was incredible seeing the support and the amount of people who were chanting 'Scotland' when we got off the bus and when we were on the pitch.  

"It's hilarious because any time you had a lineout call, I think I said it like 10 times over because no one could hear me.  

“But it's an incredible thing because it gets you so excited in the game as well." 

Scotland are returning to Salford Community Stadium for their second match of the tournament, when they take on Fiji on Saturday. 

Apart from injuries to Lana Skeldon and Jade Konkel, it is not known whether Scotland will rotate their team against the side ranked 14th in the world. 

If Blacklock is selected in the starting XV, it will mark her first start in the blue jersey of her mother’s homeland. 

She added: "You've got the players who are on the pitch, but everybody is helping that performance. Something that really shone on Saturday was the fact that there was so much togetherness on the field, and Scotland as a whole is a fantastic squad.

"Going into Fiji, it's tough because everybody obviously wants to play the World Cup, but at no point would anybody be upset that someone else is playing over them if it's the best thing for the team.

“We're here for an entire tournament, and we're here to show the world what Scotland can do. That comes from all of us."

While Blacklock has ticked off something from the bucket list with her World Cup debut, she will hope to share the experience with the person who got her into rugby. 

As an 18-year-old wandering around Durham University’s freshers fair, she was beckoned over by Coreen Grant, and the two have since played together at university, PWR and international level. 

Blacklock said: "When she called me over and asked if I'd ever played rugby, I said, 'no, but my family have done like a lot of wrestling and American football in the back garden.'  

“She said 'odd answer, but helpful, you could probably do this!'  

 "It's been incredible sharing my journey with Coreen. We started at Durham, then we both moved to London, and we've been at Saracens, then obviously I've come to Scotland, and now it's a World Cup.  

“It's just incredible to be able to take those stages with her and to share those with both of our families as well.”