‘Dampener’ as Scots miss out on World Curling play-offsImage source, British Curling/PPAImage caption, Laura Watt is eager Scotland finish strongly against NorwayPublished14 March 2026Updated 34 minutes agoScotland ended the penultimate day of round-robin ties at the World Women’s Curling Championship “on a bit of a dampener” as defeat by Italy ended their hopes of progressing to the play-offs.The 7-5 loss means Fay Henderson’s rink cannot reach the top six.A 12-2 win over Australia, the Scots’ fourth win of the tournament, had boosted their hopes and they will finish against Norway, with the match live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer. “We were really chuffed to get such a dominant win against Australia but we just let the last half of the Italy game just slip away, so ended the day on a bit of a dampener but we need to remember that we have had a good day overall,” Scotland’s Laura Watt.Henderson’s rink – Lisa Davie, Hailey Duff, Katie McMillan and Watt – are competing in their first World Championships after their recent national championship win in Dumfries. Sophie Jackson’s rink, who represented Great Britain at the Winter Olympics, were absent from that competition.”This week maybe wasn’t about making play-offs for us, it was more about gaining the experience and enjoying the week as a whole, so we will want to finish out strong against Norway and are just out to try our best and enjoy our last game,” added Watt.Having beaten Australia so comfortably earlier in the day, the Scots looked to be heading for another victory when they led Italy 4-1 after five ends.But Stefania Constantini’s rink struck back with a three at the sixth end and, although the Scots took a single to lead 5-4, the Italians scored at the final two ends to secure a victory that keeps them in the running for a play-off place.Switzerland, who lead the way with nine wins and one defeat, hosts Canada, Japan and Sweden have secured their places in the play-offs.South Korea, China, Turkey and Italy are vying for the two remaining places.Related topicsCurling
