Scotland came up frustratingly short in their final Six Nations match against Ireland, losing out on a place in WXV1 by being pipped by the determined team in green. It was a disappointing end to what has been a very good, if not spectacular, tournament from Scotland. Here are the talking points. Kicking strategy fails to create enough pressure This season we have seen Ireland kick a lot and kick long, looking to feed off territorial pressure. Scotland selected box-kicker Caity Mattinson over Mairi McDonald (who had a strong game against Italy) so it was clear Scotland were also prepared to ki ..read more

This was a very “Scotland” way to lose out on the coveted third-place spot in this year’s Six Nations. Luckily, Scotland will still qualify for the Rugby World Cup through WXV2 (ask me about the permutations later!), but they will be disappointed that they lost this game and so the “best of the rest” label; despite the strength of the Irish team this year, this was a result well within Scotland’s grasp. The post 2024 Womens Six Nations: Ireland 15-12 Scotland -Player Ratings appeared first on Scottish Rugby Blog ..read more

Scotland were always going to be forced into changes following the win in Italy and the last minute Chloe Rollie yellow card, later upgraded to red. However the changes Bryan Easson has made are possibly more drastic than anticipated. Player of the match Lana Skeldon has dropped out through injury meaning Elis Martin deputises at hooker while Emma Wassell comes back into the second row after a bereavement absence last weekend. In the backs, Coreen Grant replaces Rhona Lloyd who has returned to GB7s in a pre-arranged move. At fullback Meryl Smith replaces Rollie, meaning the backline is brand n ..read more

Scotland found a way through to a first win over Italy in Italy in 25 years, despite a somewhat scrappy performance. Although below their best, they bounced back from defeat to England, and showed enough to seal their second win of the tournament, against a team they haven’t had much Six Nations success playing in the past. Scotland keep their heads More than anything this match really showed Scotland’s mental resilience, surely honed during their bad run in 2022 and which has become a massive asset this season. Scotland weathered an early Italian passage for the first 5 or 6 minutes and then ..read more

Scotland won in Italy for the first time this century, against a strong Italian side who took the game down to the wire. Scotland had the bulk of territory and possession but the scores were even at halftime after a wonderful try from Italy’s star Alyssa D’Inca, answered by a driving maul try finished off by Lana Skeldon. The Scots stayed calm and pulled away in the second half thanks to tries by Emma Orr and Chloe Rollie, earning them their first win on Italian soil in 25 years. Scotland had obviously worked on the set piece this week and the lineout fired much more successfully, but there we ..read more

After an impressive performance against France, Scotland had hoped to back things up against the world’s number one team, but got blown away by an excellent Red Roses team and horrible weather conditions. The talk from the camp before the game had not been about winning this game, but putting in a good performance and gaining respect, as they had against France the match before. England are so far ahead in their professional journey that comparing Scotland to the Red Roses isn’t useful but Scotland won’t feel they even reached the standards they set themselves to meet. Last year Scotland conce ..read more

I had high hopes for Scotland in the lead up to this contest. Not astronomical hopes, like winning, but hopes in the realms of a 12-32 loss, with sparks of brilliance and a well firing lineout. It’s hard to play great rugby against the best team in the world, but I think Bryan Easson said it best with “We didn’t really fire a shot.” The team will be disappointed with their performance, particularly with 40 missed tackles, and hopefully it will spur them on to play as well as we know they can against Italy and Ireland, with a third place finish and World Cup qualification still in their grasp ..read more

After a much narrower loss to France than previous encounters had suggested, Scotland head coach Bryan Easson looks to continue the upward trend for the visit of undoubted tournament favourites and current table-toppers, England. In front of a sold out 7,774 fans at Hive Stadium – the second attendance record in as many home games – skipper Rachel Malcolm will once again lead the side, while for the Red Roses there is a change at captain with Zoe Aldcroft taking the armband and regular skipper Marlie Packer on the bench. Elsewhere Chloe Rollie and Lana Skeldon return to the starting XV with th ..read more

Scotland fought until the end but France got the better of them in a close match which was an encouraging sign for where this Scotland team may be. Here are some talking points from a valiant performance. Defence impresses again Scotland were unable to match their extraordinary 97% tackle completion rate from the week before, but their defence was once again excellent. In previous years, line breaks were kryptonite to this Scotland team, frequently conceding a try if the attackers got in behind the main line. France did manage seven linebreaks through their fast offloading game. In response, h ..read more

France were heavy favourites to end Scotland’s unbeaten streak, having demolished them 55-0 last year, but the Scots’ newfound confidence along with their defensive excellence made the job much tougher this year. Scotland’s only try came from Elis Martin who was excellent on her first international start. Apart from this, Scotland didn’t really look like scoring, and didn’t often threaten to break through France’s defensive line. France threw offloads left right and centre and crossed the game line with most of their carries, but their slew of handling errors allowed the Scottish defence to ke ..read more