Top-five challenge shows Scots' progress - Thomson

Lisa Thomson joined Ealing Trailfinders this summer

Centre Lisa Thomson says Scotland pushing to break into the top five of the world rankings demonstrates just how far the national team has come in recent times.

Bryan Esson's side are ranked sixth in the world but Friday's six-try victory over Wales means they are closing in on fifth-placed Australia.

The Scots face Fiji in Edinburgh on Saturday - a game being shown live on the BBC Sport website, app and iPlayer.

"I think to even say we're pushing top five is just a world away from when I came into the squad," Thomson, who earned her first cap in 2016, said.

"It's just huge for us to keep pushing performance-wise and getting results at the same time. I think we're starting to get results.

"We need to put everything together and keep building and keep learning. We need to be able to close out big games, which we've been starting to do, and we just need to keep pushing it to get into that top five."

Thomson is turning her attentions back to the 15-a-side game after competing for the Great Britain sevens side at the Paris Olympics, her second experience of the Games after also playing in Tokyo in 2021.

"It was an amazing experience to be playing in front of 68,000 people in the Stade de France compared to the Tokyo Olympics when there was nobody in the stadiums," Thomson, who signed for English club Ealing Trailfinders in the summer, added.

"It was just amazing in that sense. We were obviously a bit disappointed with some results, but the whole experience and getting to play in front of that many people was pretty cool."