Scotland take pride in 'big picture' after being denied third place finish in Women's Six Nations

Meryl Smith insists team is heading in the right direction despite defeat to Ireland

Scotland's Meryl Smith is tackled by Edel McMahon of Ireland during the Guinness Women's Six Nations match at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Scotland’s Six Nations campaign may have ended on a frustrating note with a 15-12 defeat by Ireland in Belfast, but Meryl Smith, for one, believes there was a lot to be proud of over the course of the tournament.

The Championship began with a first win in Cardiff since 2004, then after a narrow loss to France and a more substantial defeat by eventual Grand Slam winners England, Scotland travelled to Italy and won there for the first time since 1999. Smith and her team were denied a third-place finish by Ireland, but the utility back is confident that they are heading in the right direction.

“I think we’re definitely getting better,” said the Bristol Bears player, who made her name as a stand-off but played at full-back in three games and at inside centre against England. “We’re building the results year on year.

“When you look at the big picture, I think we can be proud of this Six Nations. We’ve had two really good away wins, both of them pretty historic first wins in at least 20 years, which is pretty impressive. And to get that result [a 15-5 loss at the Hive] against France - and be frustrated - it’s definitely a good sign.

“But we know we can be better. And as much as we can be proud of what we’ve done, we want to be achieving more.”

By leapfrogging Scotland into third place in the final table, Ireland qualified for next year’s Rugby World Cup in England, and for WXV1 - the top level of the three-tier global tournament to be played later this year. Scotland will again be in WXV2, the tier which they won last year, and from which they appear all but certain of claiming a place in the World Cup.

England secured the Grand Slam on Saturday with a 42-21 win against the French in Bordeaux, while Wales ended up with the Wooden Spoon despite a 22-20 victory over Italy. Both England and France have pre-qualified for the World Cup along with New Zealand and Canada as the top four sides at the last tournament.

Scotland scrum-half Caity Mattinson was able to return to the team hotel on Saturday night after needing to be stretchered off following a head/neck injury early in the first half, and is said to be doing well.