Rachel Malcolm hailed a dominant Scotland performance after leading her side to Rugby World Cup qualification with a stunning 59-3 victory over Colombia in Dubai.
Lisa Thomson, Megan Gaffney, Rhona Lloyd and Sarah Law all ran in first-half tries in the play-off final as Scotland went into the half-time interval with a 28-3 advantage.
Gaffney touched down again after the break before further tries from Jade Konkel, Lana Skeldon, Evie Wills and Molly Wright ensured Scotland secured the last remaining place for the delayed 2021 tournament.
And Scotland booked their place in New Zealand, where they will make their first World Cup appearance since 2010, Malcolm paid tribute to everyone who played a role in the journey.
“I’m almost lost for words, I’m ecstatic, I’m so proud,” she said.
“The amount we’ve been through as a squad to get to this point and the dominance in the performance we’ve just managed to put in is unbelievable.
“We talked all week about not letting up in terms of our focus and keeping to our processes, our focus, all the boring stuff and not letting up for 80 minutes and that’s exactly what we did.
“It’s probably one of the most clinical performances we’ve ever put out and I’m just so proud of the girls and the management and everyone who has been involved in the programme and I’m not just talking about in the build-up to this game.
“This has been 12 years in the making, people like Shade Munro, who galvanised us and all the women who have pulled on the shirt over the last 12 years have been part of this and I really hope they’ve enjoyed tonight as well, because it’s about them as much as it’s about us.”
Victory in the Final Qualification Tournament decider means that Scotland will join New Zealand, Australia and Wales in Pool A for this autumn’s showpiece event.
Scotland head coach Bryan Easson added: “I’m so proud of this group of players, the work they’ve put in over the last 18 months, with COVID, with the cancellation of games, with the cancellation of Rugby World Cup qualifiers so many times, to then be able to compete on the grass has been phenomenal.
“I thought the performance tonight was professional from minute one to minute eighty, they didn’t chase the game, they didn’t force the game, they did exactly as we’d discussed from this morning and for the whole two weeks building up to that game, so I’m very proud.”
