Gordon Shepherd, the Scotland women's coach, is approaching his team's five-Test series against South Africa at Titwood in Glasgow over the next week with his customary quiet enthusiasm, but the odds are stacked against him.

The Scots are without their four Great Britain players, Laura Bartlett, Emily Maguire, Abi Walker and Vikki Bunce, while the South Africans will be in peak condition as they build up to the Olympics. However, Shepherd's charges have more than held their own against the world No.12-ranked side in recent times. The Scots drew 2-2 with the Springboks in the Champions Challenge last year, before winning two games and drawing the other in a three-Test series.

"I believe it had been 25 years since we'd beaten the South Africans, never mind winning a series against them," said Shepherd. "To repeat that with a reduced squad will be very hard, but not impossible. We have some new ideas that we would like to try out, and this series is an excellent opportunity."

The games mark the start of Scotland's build-up to the first round a of the inaugural World League and the Champions Challenge in Italy, so Shepherd gives an outing to all the players in his training squad, minus the GB players and two long-term injury victims. He said: "It's a chance for players new to the squad and those not selected last year to show they can play at this level and put down a marker for future squad selections."