Rebecca Morrison is well aware of the size of the shoes she’s attempting to fill; after all, she’s asked about it in almost every interview she does.
In the aftermath of becoming Olympic champion last year, Eve Muirhead, who’s Scotland’s most successful curler ever, decided the time was right to retire from the sport. And so, following closely in Muirhead’s footsteps as the new skip of Scotland’s top women’s team, is Morrison. But she is surprisingly relaxed about the task.
“There is pressure coming after Eve but at the same time, as a team, we remind ourselves that our path is completely different,” the 26-year-old from Aberdeen says.
“Eve and her team did finish on a massive high by winning the Olympics but we have to remember that not every single competition was a high and it’s not like Scotland won medals at every single championships.So we have to remember that and make sure we don’t put too much pressure on ourselves thinking we should medal every time. We have our own goals and that’s not based on anyone else’s past achievements.”
Morrison may not be looking to become Muirhead mark two but she has similarly ambitious goals.
This weekend, Morrison and her rink of vice-skip Gina Aitken, second Sophie Sinclair and lead Sophie Jackson make their World Championship debut which really, is a year later than they would have liked.
At the 2022 World Championships, Morrison and her rink arrived in Canada set on making their global championship debut but the curse of Covid struck every member of the team down, resulting in a swift withdrawal.
This year, however, no such hiccups have occurred and Morrison is, finally, set to make her World Championships debut when the event begins in Sweden.
“Last year was really difficult – I didn’t even get on the ice and the others only got a couple of games before having to pull out.
“What was tough was that, at the time, you just don’t know if you’re ever going to get an opportunity like that again,” she says.
“But to be getting the chance again only a year later is amazing. We’re really excited to just get on the ice in the first place but we also want to put on a good showing.”
Morrison may still be relatively inexperienced on the international stage but the past year has seen her rink not only become the top Scottish team but also rocket up the world rankings to 21st place, as well as win their first major championships medal; bronze at the European Championships last November.
It’s been quite a 12 months but one that Morrison believes stands them in good stead as they prepare to face the very best in the world over the next week or so.
“Going into those Europeans a few months ago, our aim was to medal even though a lot of people, I don’t think, expected us to,” she says. “There were a lot of teams ranked above us so to come away with bronze was a big thing.
“It gave us a lot of confidence and to get some wins over some really good teams, a lot of which will be at the Worlds, was really encouraging.
“We’ve always had confidence in ourselves but that really added to our self-belief.”
Having won he Scottish title last month, Morrison and her team are match sharp and on a winning streak as they begin their campaign in Sweden and while she’s
reluctant to pile undue pressure upon herself and her rink, there’s little doubt she’s hoping to be in the mix for silverware come next weekend.
“Representing Scotland does come with a bit of pressure because Scottish teams are always expected to do well at major championships and our fans are keen to get good results so we don’t want to let anyone down,” she says.
“There’s going to be a lot of very good teams at this Worlds so we’re expecting a very tough challenge.
“First off, we’d like to make the play-offs and then if we do that, we’ll take it from there.
“Once you’re in the playoffs, though, you just need a couple of good performances and that’s you got a medal.
“But for us, we need to focus on the group stage first and then we’ll reassess our goals after that.”
