The carrot for Scotland to beat the number two side in the world is the possibility of avoiding the number one side in the quarter-finals.
If, as expected, Scotland were to finish second in Pool B behind Canada, they would face hosts England in the last eight, where their journey would surely come to an end. A Scotland victory over England in their own tournament would be an upset to rival any in the history of the World Cup – women’s or men’s.
Better then to navigate a different course, one that would set-up a quarter-final against either Australia or the United States. Still a tough assignment, but not quite the mission impossible of facing the Red Roses.
Soon to be stepping down head coach Bryan Easson spoke this week of “routes to the semi-final and final”, which is bold talk for a team who arrived at this tournament mired in off-field chaos.
And yet Scotland’s performances in the victories over Wales and Fiji, with the likes of Francesca McGhie, Rhona Lloyd and Emma Orr lighting it up, have allowed them to dream of doing something special.
Victory over Canada would be special in itself and it would set them up for a truly memorable campaign.
“You want to challenge yourself against the best, and Canada are definitely up there as one of the best, if not the best team in this tournament at the minute,” said Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm.
“We know the challenge ahead, but that excites us. As Scots, we love that underdog mentality. I know the Canadians think of themselves as underdogs as well, so it’s going to be two going up against each other for that title.
“We’re looking at this game as an opportunity to go out there and put in an even better performance than we have in the first two games.
“The energy about the group is class and just a huge amount of excitement going into the last pool game.”
