Flag day for Molly Wright: Scotland star celebrated for "hard work" and "enthusiasm"
Molly Wright with her specially made flag following Scotland's win over Fiji
©Gary Heatly
In Manchester last weekend, Molly Wright’s former Watsonians teammates honoured the Scotland front-rower with a specially made saltire flag, celebrating the “enthusiasm” and “hard work” that have seen her play in two Rugby World Cups in her 30s.
When Wright arrived in Scotland from New Zealand- via a stint in London working within the NHS in early 2017- playing rugby again as she had in her youth, let alone winning an international cap, was the furthest thing from her mind.
However, pre-pandemic, she joined Watsonians in Edinburgh, one of the top women’s clubs in Scotland, and things have moved on apace since then.
In 2022, then 31, the front-rower, who qualifies for Scotland via residency, was part of the squad that went to the World Cup in her homeland.
Fast forward three years and, now 34, Wright has faced plenty of challenges but battled back to be part of the 32-strong Scottish group currently contesting Pool B.
The Sale Sharks player came off the bench in the 38-8 bonus-point win over Wales in their opening game at the Salford Community Stadium and, last Saturday, featured as replacement hooker in the 29-15 bonus-point victory over Fiji at the same venue.
This means Scotland have already secured a quarter-final place and will face off against Canada, who are also safely through, in the Pool B decider on Saturday at Sandy Park in Exeter.
During the post-Fiji celebrations last Saturday, Wright met a group of her former Watsonians teammates in the stands and they presented her with the flag.
The Scotland flag featured photos of her from childhood through to the present day, and ex-teammate Rachel Bragg told TRU: "I felt we needed something to catch her eye so we included a couple of childhood Molly photos and then some more recent ones and got her club nickname of ‘Molly Moo’ on there for everyone to see.
"We loved seeing her after the game as we are all so, so proud of her, especially coming back from 18 months of injury and rehab to make it back into the squad for this event.
“Against Fiji, she was putting in great carries and tackles when she got on the pitch. Obviously, the Watsonians girls would love to take credit for part of her journey, but Mol has been playing since she was small and rugby is such a big part of her life.
"Ever since we met her when she joined Watsonians a few years ago, she's always had the same enthusiasm and put in the hard work which has helped get her to where she is today. We cannot wait to watch her during the rest of the World Cup."
Wright, who now has 26 caps, added: "It was so good to see the Watsonians girls after the game. I loved playing for the club and made many of my best friends there.
"The fans in general have been amazing so far during the tournament. Both games have felt like home games. Even when we've been getting off the bus before the games, the crowds are all Scottish, the chants are all Scottish and that makes us all feel so good heading into big games.
“Obviously, Exeter is just that bit further away, but I am sure we will see plenty of saltires down there at the weekend too.
"To have this Canada game and then the quarter-finals too look forward to is exciting.”
‘The medics were brilliant’
Bragg mentioned that Wright had battled back from long-term injury to make this World Cup and the player, originally from Reefton in New Zealand, certainly did.
Between early 2023 and early 2024, Wright was out of action with an ACL knee injury. She returned just before last year’s Six Nations with Sale and was then involved in all of Scotland’s matches in the tournament.
Then in May, post-Six Nations, she picked up another long-term injury in a league game against Leicester Tigers.
"We didn’t know it at the time, but I tore my hip flexor off my pelvis,” she explained.
"When it happened, I wasn’t too stressed about it because there were just a few games of the season to go and I thought it might just be a muscle tear, but obviously when I heard from the medics that I had torn my hip flexor off my pelvis, I readied myself for another spell out.
"Both of the injuries, the ACL and this one, were on the same leg while they were both non-contact injuries too. For example, with the second one, I was just running in open space.
"It was difficult to get my head around another long period of rehab at first, I’ll be honest, especially as the injury isn’t a very common one.
"With an ACL, you are pretty much told straight away it’ll be 12 months out, but with the hip flexor injury, no one was really sure how long it would take to get back to playing with the same power as before.
"It was all up in the air and I really wasn’t looking forward to another six months or so of rehab, but Sale and Scotland were so supportive and the medics with both were brilliant."
Skipper says making the quarter-finals is a ‘phenomenal achievement’
Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm said it means "everything" to her and her teammates to have secured a quarter-final place at the World Cup, describing it as a "phenomenal achievement."
The team are still buzzing from securing their place in the last eight, despite a challenging build-up to the tournament, with contract issues and the timing of head coach Bryan Easson’s departure proving disruptive.
"It means quite literally everything to know that we are through to the quarter-finals,” back-rower Malcolm, 34, said.
"I've been a part of this team since 2016, but there's been women before us that have been fighting for this goal.
"We have had to fight for everything we have got over the years, but for us in the group, we have always believed we can compete at the top table and to get to the quarter-finals for the first time in many years is just an absolute phenomenal achievement, but one that we deserve.
"This moment is down to the work that we have tirelessly put in, not only in the last three years since the last World Cup, but the years before that.
"This moment is for the women on the pitch, but also the women that have gone before us in Scotland shirts since 1993 [when Scotland women first played a Test] who fought to get us into this position."
The Scotland matchday 23 to play Canada will be named on Thursday.
