Netball World Cup: Lynsey Gallagher says Glasgow 2014 helped sport

Lynsey Gallagher plays goal attack for the Strathclyde Sirens

Having the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow helped debunk the notion that netball is "just a schoolgirls game for girls in short skirts", says Scotland international Lynsey Gallagher.

Gallagher is expected to part of the Scotland team that competes in the World Cup in Liverpool in July.

And the 26-year-old says the sport has come on "leaps and bounds" in Scotland in the past five years.

"The 2014 games was a huge platform for our sport," said the goal attack.

"People were surprised when they came to watch just how fast it is. If we can show what it's all about, hopefully we can get more people involved and more budding stars coming through the ranks."

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The majority of the Scotland squad that will travel south in the summer play for the Strathclyde Sirens, who compete in the sport's Super League.

The team play their final game of the campaign at Saracens Mavericks on Saturday and will finish in one of the bottom two spots in the 10-team division.

However, the Glasgow team can boast the second highest average attendance in the league and Gallagher says playing at the highest level in Britain can help the Scotland players when they face Samoa, England and Uganda in their initial group games this summer.

"The last time we played internationally was at the Games on the Gold Coast, so the Superleague has been a great platform for us to test ourselves against the best in the UK," said the primary school teacher.

"It has been a good season in terms of trying things out, combinations, for the World Cup.

"We've got a tough pool, there's no doubt. But there are games we can take - and we'll be going out to show what we're made of."