How Scotland Women Are Using Smarter Recovery to Build Resilience and Perform Under Pressure

At Scotland Women’s National Team, recovery is no longer something that happens at the end of the rugby day; it’s part of the plan from the start.

With a condensed pre-season window and high stakes as they head into international competition, the team is training to perform not just for one match, but for four or five weeks of sustained high output. To meet that demand, the performance staff has doubled down on the foundations: fitness, strength, and recovery. Leading that charge is Josie Symonds, Head of Physical Performance.

More than a pre-season, a platform

“We’ve been really chasing after fitness,” Josie explains. “This five-week block has been about doing the hard graft, on the field and in the gym. Our goal is to be ready to play the kind of game we want to play, and that takes physical prep at every level.”

Scotland are coming off the back of previous campaigns with renewed clarity around their identity and playing style. For Josie, her role is clear: “It’s my job to make sure the squad are fit enough to perform, and to give their best account of themselves for that style of play. We’ve made it clear to the group - we’re not relenting on stimulus. This is our time to make progress.”

Building performance on recovery

With such a demanding block, recovery has taken centre stage. “Pre-season always comes with that fear factor,” says Josie. “Players know it’s going to be hard. But if we want to get the most out of each day, recovery has to be non-negotiable.”

The team is encouraged to take full ownership of their readiness. That includes sleep, nutrition, movement, and a blend of active and passive recovery strategies, many of which now feature Hytro BFR.

“We’ve periodised Hytro into our week,” Josie explains. “It’s embedded differently depending on the on-pitch stimulus and what’s coming next. The players have autonomy around it, but we’ve worked hard over the last 18 months to help them make informed, purposeful choices.”

From pairing Hytro with mobility sessions or light bike flushes, to combining it with hot–cold contrast therapy or using it passively during team meals, the versatility of Hytro BFR wearables allows Josie’s team to apply it across the week without overloading players.

“It might be used on an off day during a walk or in the ice bath. Or on our double days, players will wear it up to lunch as part of a glycogen replenishment and recovery window. Later that day, we might have them using it again during our ‘golden hour’ flush on the bike or with contrast.”

From habit to high performance

That kind of structured flexibility has only worked because players understand the why. “We’ve worked hard to move away from the five favourite strategies that players want to do every day, like the sauna or hot tub. Those things are nice, and mentally they have a benefit, but the real progress has come from getting players to think about what stimulus they’re recovering from, and what’s coming next.”

For Josie, recovery is not about ticking a box, it’s about being deliberate. “We wouldn’t do the same training every day, so why would we use the same recovery strategy every day? We’ve challenged the group to be more proactive. Hytro helps us do that because it gives players options, while still making sure they’re getting a productive recovery.”

She adds, “Even if it’s passive, lying down on the bus after a game, wearing Hytro, it’s still doing something. And for us, something is always better than nothing.”

Recovery that shows up on game day

With Scotland now heading into tournament play, Hytro will continue to feature heavily in the team’s post-match plans. “We’ve all got Hytro in our bags,” Josie says. “After a game, it’s straight on for the bus home. That’s 20 minutes of recovery done before we even get back. It’s easy, it works, and when you’ve only got one day off before training again, that time matters.”

The tournament format demands consistency across multiple weeks, with little room for error. “Every game counts. There’s no room for prioritising fixtures or rotating in a slow week. We have to manage workload, recovery, and performance every day to stay sharp.”

Resilient, fit, and tenacious.

After 18 months of elevating recovery standards, Josie is seeing the payoff. “The uptake with Hytro has rocketed. They understand the value, and that’s allowed us to push harder across the week and still be ready to go again.”

When asked how she wants this Scotland team to be remembered at the end of the tournament, Josie doesn’t hesitate: “Resilient. Fit. Tenacious.”

Now, with recovery built into their identity and Hytro in every kit bag, they’re not just ready to train, they’re ready to perform. 

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