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'I don't really recognise myself': Emma Orr on growing into the Scotland 13 shirt
By Gary Heatly
Scotland centre Emma Orr feels that she has been on “quite a journey” since the last Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and now she has her sights on making her mark at the showpiece event in England in August and September.
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When Orr travelled to the southern hemisphere for the 2021 event played in late 2022, she was just 19, was still playing amateur rugby for local club Biggar and had only four international caps under her belt.
Fast forward nearly three years and she has made the Scotland number 13 shirt her own, has 29 caps to her name and has scored seven tries for her country.
In fact, it would not be at all wide of the mark to say the Bristol Bear is one of the first names on the teamsheet for the Scots and the 22-year-old regularly impresses many commentators and pundits with her ability to glide and find space in attack and be solid in defence.
“When I look back at pictures and videos from New Zealand in 2022, I don’t really recognise myself, I just feel like I’ve been on quite a journey since then,” Orr said.
“I was so young and so much had happened in a short space of time. I had made my Scotland debut in Wales earlier that year aged 18, had just been to the Commonwealth Games playing sevens and was then off to New Zealand so I was just trying to take it all in.
“Since then, I have played a lot of rugby and feel like I have grown up a lot as a player and as a person while I am enjoying continuing to grow in the 13 shirt.
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“I still feel like I’m learning during every training session in that position to be honest having played elsewhere growing up, but I really enjoy it.
“I am always trying to evolve my attacking game and I feel like I’ve added a bit of kicking into my game. That’s definitely something I never would have done at the last World Cup.
“On the flip side, I am trying to be more dominant in that important defensive channel as well, trying to make reads there and shut down attacks more regularly.
“There is always learning to be done, but I am feeling in a good place on and off the pitch just now.”
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A lot of why Orr is feeling good is down to the two rugby environments she is currently a part of.
She is just entering week four of pre-World Cup training with Scotland in Edinburgh while she recently signed on with PWR outfit Bristol for a second campaign.
“The Scotland environment is brilliant, everyone was so welcoming since day one when I came in and I really enjoy being around the group,” she stated.
“And the Bristol move has been really good since I moved there last summer. I was quite apprehensive about it at first as I’m very much a homebody, so it was a big move for me.
“But I have loved it. The girls down there have been so welcoming and I feel home away from home there in a sense.
“I had a little bump in the road with the ankle injury last season, but I am back on my feet now and I’m looking forward to another year there learning from all of the quality players in the squad.
“It’s a lovely part of the world as well, it’s quite agricultural and rural and that suits me having been brought up on a farm.”
Scotland’s most capped player of all-time – male or female – Donna Kennedy came through the ranks at Biggar and that pipeline is continuing apace thanks to the likes of Orr, national team mate Rachel Philipps and under-20 squad members Poppy Mellanby, Emily Coubrough and Holly Wilson.
The Hartree Mill outfit recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with a big celebration dinner and Orr hopes to be celebrating her selection for a second World Cup in a few weeks’ time.
“I think it’s rare to play in a World Cup, but to play in a World Cup so close to home would be pretty cool,” Orr said about the prospect of being part of the big dance in England.
“Last time we were so far away, but this time for families and friends to come and watch, it’ll be really special.
“We are really lucky to have it so close to home and I think England will do a brilliant job of hosting it and, from what we have seen and heard, they will certainly be bringing in the crowds.
“I mentioned that it feels like a long time since New Zealand, but in a strange way it also feels like no time at all because I have been so busy since then.
“And I am happy for the busy times to continue because I am excited about what this Scotland squad can do at the World Cup.”
Scotland’s first 2025 World Cup match is against fierce rivals Wales on Saturday 23rd August.
New tickets for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 are now available, with prices starting at £10 for adults and £5 for children. Buy now!
