- By Andrew Petrie
- ` Sport Scotland
39 minutes ago
image source, Johan Rynners – World Rugby
image description,
Scotland beat South Africa to win the inaugural WXV 2 in October
|
Guinness Six Nations: Wales v Scotland |
|---|
|
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Date: Saturday 23 March Kick-off: 16:45 GMT |
|
Coverage: Live from 16:30 GMT on ` Two Wales, ` iPlayer and watch online; Listen on ` Radio Wales and Radio Cymru; Text commentary, highlights and coverage on the ` Sport website and app. |
It wasn't so long ago that Scotland suffered from the Welsh resurgence in Cardiff and prevailed by a point in a Six Nations thriller.
There may be similar drama this Saturday as matches between Scotland and Wales in women's rugby are often extremely close and this game is expected to be no different.
Additionally, the game also represents a chance for Scotland to win for a record seventh consecutive season.
Of course, players and staff told us that they only concentrate on one game at a time. That may be true, but fans can dream.
Should Scotland secure an opening win and repeat last season's performance of beating Italy and Ireland, they would win three Six Nations games for the first time since 2005, when Spain took the place of Italy.
In the competition's 28-year history, Scotland have won three or more games only four times. It would be an obvious indicator of how far this Scottish team has come in a short space of time.
It was only in 2022 that Bryan Easson's side won the Wooden Spoon, going winless in all five games – despite picking up three defeat bonus points.
Since then, they have gone head-to-head with Australia in a World Cup, winning the inaugural WXV 2 competition, putting them on the verge of a historic seventh consecutive victory.
“We can’t quite compete with England and France yet,” admitted Easson. “We would compare the performances and I would say that the performances are improving year on year and we are closing the gap. It will take time.”
“We have only been professional for 18 months. Wales, Ireland, Italy and we are all broadly in the same boat.”
These games against England and France definitely cool the Jets down. Both gave Scotland 50 points last year to remind them of their place. Three wins might be the goal, but it would be even better to make the other two scorelines competitive.
Wales peripheral history from the tape
Back to the actual task. Wales' eight-point win in Edinburgh last season was the biggest margin between these sides since 2016.
Three points separated them at the postponed 2022 World Cup – an 86th-minute penalty from Kiera Bevan gave Wales victory in Whangarei, New Zealand.
In the 2022 Six Nations, Wales won by five. Scotland's last win of 2021 was by seven points. In 2019 there were only two points. In 2018 and 2017 there was only one.
These games are played on a knife's edge and the slightest margin could be the deciding factor. Despite her side's incredible pre-tournament form, Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm is keen to call the Welsh women favourites.
“We have absolutely no illusions that they are targeting us and that we are probably the underdogs,” the captain said.
“But this Six Nations for us is about building on the brand of rugby we have started to show and getting results from that. The focus has to be on performance, but we are super excited.”
image source, Ross Parker – SNS Group
image description,
Francesca McGhie made her Scotland debut in the Six Nations tournament against Wales last year
Scotland's stars and emerging talents
One reason for Scotland's rapid turnaround is the emergence of a new wave of talent.
Players such as Lana Skeldon, Emma Wassell, Rachel McLachlan and Chloe Rollie have shone even in the darkest of times, but their strength has been bolstered by up-and-coming players – many of whom have been given a chance at high-level rugby thanks to the Celtic Challenge Cup.
Francesca McGhie was the breakout star last year – not just for Scotland but for the sport. Then there's 20-year-old Emma Orr, who takes to international rugby like a duck to water.
Backrower Evie Gallagher and utility backer Meryl Smith have each added power and flair, while Elliann Clarke and Elis Martin now have PWR experience in the front row.
Easson always had a fairly strong XV, but when games got tough Scotland tended to fall away as players were tired and substitutes couldn't quite perform to the required standard.
That is no longer the case. He has the headaches all coaches want – selection problems all over the pitch, players fighting for shirts and desperate to play for their country.
“Outside people would talk us down and probably tell us we weren’t very good,” Malcolm said. “We knew we were building something really exciting and knew what we were capable of.”
“We really had to move forward with this because at a point in time we had a record number of losses and you start to doubt yourself.”
“After going to a tournament and dominating that tournament, we proved to ourselves that we weren’t crazy.”
Comments are closed.