Borderers Chloe Rollie and Lana Skeldon among 28 Scottish rugby internationals given contracts in breakthrough for women’s game

Lana Skeldon, left, and Chloe Rollie lining up for Scotland's women's rugby team against the USA at the DAM Health Stadium in Edinburgh in August (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)

Borderers Chloe Rollie and Lana Skeldon have been given Scottish Rugby Union contracts as part of a move hailed as a major breakthrough for the women’s game this side of the border.

Full-back Rollie and hooker Skeldon are among 28 Scotland squad members handed contracts as the union increases its investment in the women’s game in an effort to better equip the national team to compete on the world stage.

They join fellow Borderer Lisa Thomson in going pro as she’s already been signed up by Great Britain’s sevens squad, along with fellow Scots Shona Campbell and Rhona Lloyd.

Jedburgh’s Rollie, 27, has 52 caps to her name, with Hawick’s Skeldon, 29, on 57 and centre Thomson, 25, also of Hawick, on 49.

Lana Skeldon in action for Scotland during their summer test match against the USA in August in Edinburgh (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)

“I’m ecstatic to be a professional rugby player,” said Exeter Chief Rollie.

“For me, it’s massive. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. It’s something I’ve always thought about doing, and I never thought in my time of playing it would be a possibility, but here we are.

“History’s been made and I’m able to say that I’m a professional athlete and I can focus fully on my rugby.

“This step by Scottish Rugby is massive for younger girls to look up and notice that there’s an opportunity for them to get into rugby.

Scotland's Chloe Rollie on the ball versus the USA in Edinburgh in August (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)

"I hope it really does help to push girls on in sticking to rugby and bring younger girls through the pathways and into the Scottish set-up.”

Scottish Rugby director of high performance Jim Mallinder agrees, saying: “This is a landmark moment for the women’s performance programme and these contracts are a significant first step in a long-term journey towards professionalising the women’s game.

“This announcement will provide a crucial boost ahead of the Women’s Six Nations championship and the launch of the new global women’s competition, WXV, as we aim to ensure that we can compete and challenge the top teams on the world stage.

“The next step will look at how we can create a sustainable and competitive playing environment in Scotland while building our high-performance pathways to support our future internationalists and ensure new talent is identified and developed.”

Lisa Thomson in action for Scotland in August versus the USA in Edinburgh (Photo by Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)

Scotland women’s head coach Bryan Easson added: “I’m delighted for the 28 players who have accepted professional contracts.

“The women’s game and calendar are continuously evolving and growing and we now have an annual programme that we can plan and prepare for properly whilst also developing the players as individuals at their existing clubs.

“The ability for players to focus on rugby each week, while having sufficient enough time for recovery and analysis, is a real positive for us and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve going forward.”