Scotland head coach Philip Doyle has urged his side to focus on playing their own style of rugby in Monday’s Women’s Six Nations clash against England in Edinburgh, with his side looking to bounce back from Round 1 defeat to Ireland.
The teams had been due to face off on Sunday but the game was postponed due to the extreme weather conditions as a result of Storm Ciara and will instead be played on Monday at BT Murrayfield.
Doyle has made three changes from the starting team that went down 18-14 in Dublin last weekend, with Hannah Smith and Megan Gaffney both ruled out through injury, and believes his side can give the visitors a real challenge at Scotstoun.
Meanwhile, Simon Middleton’s England side come into the match off the back of a 19-13 opening weekend victory over France in Pau, as they recorded their first away Women’s Six Nations victory over Les Bleues since 2012.
The England head coach has made five changes to the side for the trip north of the border, with Amber Reed among the players to come in to the starting XV, as the Red Roses look to continue their quest for back-to-back Grand Slams.
WHAT THEY SAID
Scotland head coach Philip Doyle: “We have suffered with a couple of injuries in the last week. We have made the decision to rest Hannah Smith and Megan Gaffney so that they are in the best possible fitness for the rest of the Championship.
“We are under no illusion of how strong England are going to be, but for us it is a matter of playing our type of rugby against them rather than just trying to stop them. We will not make it easy for them at our home ground.
“It will be a great occasion being back at Scotstoun and I hope all of our fans will get behind us for what is sure to be an exciting display of rugby.â€
Re-live the best bits from Round 1️⃣#WomensSixNations pic.twitter.com/PsvAA9S6VR
— Women’s Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) February 7, 2020
England head coach Simon Middleton said:Â “We’re really looking forward to the game in Glasgow on the back of a strong opening weekend for us.
“Scotland have a lot of quality with a number of their players playing in the Tyrrells Premier 15s. We know they’ll present a strong, physical test and it’s vital we match them in every department.
“Our strength in depth means we’ve had players patiently waiting in the wings for an opportunity and we’ve freshened up the squad and starting XV.
“Claudia MacDonald is one such player who we see as significant in our plans going forward and it’s important she gets game time to further her development.
“This game is also a big opportunity for some of our more experienced players such as Vicky Fleetwood, Amber Reed and Vickii Cornborough who haven’t had a lot of recent game time due to injury.â€
KEY BATTLE – Jade Konkel v Sarah Hunter
This one sees two of the most influential players in the Tyrrells Premier 15s go head to head in Glasgow, with Harlequins’ Jade Konkel and Loughborough Lightning’s Sarah Hunter battling it out in the No.8 position.
What Hunter doesn’t know about rugby isn’t worth knowing, with the 34-year-old so often the lynchpin that holds the Red Roses side together.
The 2016 World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year always seems to perform during the Championship, with another commanding performance in France last weekend testament to that fact.
Going up against her will be one of Scottish rugby’s hottest prospects in Konkel, who has established herself within the Harlequins set-up in the last two years, as well as on the international stage.
The 26-year-old is the woman that makes Scotland tick on their day, so a big performance from her on Sunday could give the home fans something to cheer as they go up against the reigning Women’s Six Nations champions.
KEY STATS
England have never lost a game against Scotland in the Women’s Six Nations, winning each of their 18 contests
England kicked for 521 metres last weekend against France, the highest of all teams in Round 1 of the 2020 Women’s Six Nations. In contrast, Scotland kicked for 201 metres, the lowest total of the round.
England were the only team to win all of their lineouts in Round 1, as they won each of their 13 restarts from the side-lines.
THE TEAMS
Scotland:Â 15 Chloe Rollie, 14 Rhona Lloyd, 13 Lisa Thomson, 12 Helen Nelson, 11 Evie Tonkin, 10 Sarah Law, 9 Mairi McDonald, 1Â Leah Bartlett, 2 Lana Skeldon, 3 Mairi Forsyth, 4 Emma Wassell, 5Â Sarah Bonar, 6Â Rachel Malcolm, 7Â Rachel McLachlan, 8Â Jade Konkel
Replacements: 16 Molly Wright, 17 Panashe Muzambe, 18 Lisa Cockburn, 19 Siobhan Cattigan, 20 Louise McMillan, 21 Rachel Law, 22 Annabel Sergeant, 23 Alex Wallace
England: 15 Emily Scott, 14Â Abby Dow, 13 Emily Scarratt, 12 Amber Reed, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Zoe Harrison, 9Â Natasha Hunt, 1Â Vickii Cornborough, 2 Lark Davies, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Poppy Cleall, 5 Zoe Aldcroft, 6 Sarah Beckett, 7 Vicky Fleetwood, 8 Sarah Hunter
Replacements: 16 Amy Cokayne, 17 Hannah Botterman, 18 Shaunagh Brown, 19 Harriet Millar-Mills, 20 Amelia Harper, 21 Claudia MacDonald, 22 Katy Daley-Mclean, 23 Sarah McKenna
The post Preview: Scotland Women v England Women appeared first on Six Nations Rugby.
Source: 6 Nations