It’s taken Sarah Robertson 32 long years to reach a Hockey World Cup.
The Scot is a double-Olympian, has competed in three Commonwealth Games and has played club hockey at the very highest level. Yet a World Cup appearance had evaded her. Until now.
After a 24-year gap, Scotland’s women will, this weekend, return to the World Cup stage. This tournament, which begins today in Belgium, will showcase the very best teams on the planet and sits second behind only the Olympic Games in terms of prestige in the hockey world.
And this is, says Robertson, who will captain her country, not only a significant moment for this team but also for hockey as a whole in Scotland.
"It's a long time since a Scottish women's team have been at the World Cup - and we're just the fourth ever - so this is an amazing moment,” the midfielder says.
“Hockey is such a popular sport in Scotland at school and club level so for us to be on this international stage, with the Scottish team playing alongside the best 16 teams in the world, is a really big thing for us.”
The task that lies ahead of Robertson and her teammates this week is monumental.
Grouped alongside two of the world’s top five sides, Argentina who are ranked second in the world and Germany who are ranked fifth, as well as the USA, makes for a strenuous run of matches.
But, having come through the qualifiers earlier this year, Robertson believes her side is as well-equipped to make their presence felt at this tournament.
“What's made the difference for us over the last few years is that we've had a pretty consistent squad,” says Robertson.
“And then the players we've added who have come through the pathway have been dynamite for us.
“When you combine the younger ones with our top-end players - we've got four or five girls who are in the GB squad - it makes for a really good combination.
“Of course, we are aware that we've got a really tough group this week - that’s always the case when you're a lower-ranked side, like us. One of our target games of the group will definitely be the USA, because they're the other lower-ranked team, and then Germany and Argentina will be real battles. But we're relishing the opportunity to play the very best teams in the world.”
This Scotland squad has arrived at this World Cup in scintillating form. A recent friendly match win over Belgium, who are the third best women’s team in the world, has given Robertson and her compatriots a timely confidence boost and so they head into their opening match today against Germany, who were semi-finalists at the previous World Cup in 2022, optimistic that they can make their opposition uncomfortable.
“We've watched a lot of videos and played a lot of matches recently so we understand what works and what doesn't for us,” says Robertson, from Selkirk.
“We've evolved some elements of our game - we’ve brought in more attacking fluidity, which is what you need to do well against the top teams. Everyone's been so motivated by the fact we've had this World Cup to aim for so that has brought an extra edge to what we've been doing and we’re feeling good.”
For Robertson herself, this World Cup is confirmation that she is still more than capable of playing at the very highest level.
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Having been a part of the Great Britain squad for almost a decade and competing at two Olympic Games, winning bronze at Tokyo 2020, the Scot stepped away from the GB set-up at the end of 2024. Robertson wasn’t, at that point, entirely sure as to the direction her hockey career was going to take but having led her country to this World Cup, she’s as driven as ever and focusing entirely on Scotland duty, as well as her club career with Wimbledon will, she hopes, ensure her career has a good few years left in it yet.
“I've played in every other tournament in hockey so to lead my country out on the world stage at a World Cup this week is massive for me,” she says.
“I say that I retired after Paris, but to be honest, I've not, because the Scotland commitments have been so intense over the last couple of years so I've probably retired by about 5 percent. It's definitely not been the version of putting my feet up that I had maybe thought it would be.
“But actually, it's been perfect for me because I still have this great balance of playing hockey at the highest level, but it's not my entire life. The intensity of being in the GB squad and being judged every single day, as well as the actual training, is a lot. But now, concentrating on Scotland duty and my club hockey has, I feel, extended my career.
“So, for now, my focus is playing well at this World Cup - we’re going into this feeling like it's a massive opportunity and we want to showcase the hockey we can play, try and take scalps against some of the biggest teams in the world and finish as high as possible.”
