In late February, Scotland swept Colombia aside 59-3 in Dubai to guarantee their place on the women’s game’s biggest stage for the first time in 12 years.
Seven months on and the opening game of the Rugby World Cup is just days away, a tangible reward finally in sight for the squad’s success in qualification.
When Brian Easson’s side take on Wales in Whangarei in the early hours of Sunday morning, they will be confronted with familiar opposition, albeit in unfamiliar surroundings.
Scotland centre Lisa Thomson, former captain of the national side, recognises the size and significance of the occasion.
“That first game against Wales is huge,” she said. “We know them inside out, and they know us the same.
“It’s a big game, it sets off our World Cup journey. Everyone’s buzzing to get out there and get started.”
With New Zealand – the hosts and reigning champions – and Australia also in Scotland’s group, the opener takes on additional importance, as there are two third-place qualifying spots for the quarter-finals.
A spot in the last eight is the initial target for Scotland.
“We’re definitely looking to get out of our pool,” Thomson said. “We’re looking at that first Wales game, I think that will set us off on a good start.”
The last time Scotland played Wales, in this year’s Six Nations, Easson’s side created chance after chance and led 19-7 – but eventually lost 24-19.
“We learned a lot about ourselves down there,” Thomson recalls. “We were in that game for 60 to 70 minutes. We created a lot of opportunities, just didn’t finish them off.
“We’ve been working on how to beat them – I’m not going to tell you those things, but we’ve been working a lot on ourselves in the last six months.”