Women’s Six Nations Wales v Scotland Preview

Scotland travel to Cardiff to face Wales in the Women’s Six Nations on Saturday and it is arguably the most mouth-watering clash of round two.

The Scots fell short against England in round one but played better than the 57-5 scoreline suggests and their performance has got fans excited for their showdown against Wales. A particular star that shone off the bench was Shona Campbell and she starts at the Arms Park.

Hosts Wales will be on a high after beating Ireland in Dublin – their first win in the championship since 2019. Not only did they make a brilliant comeback in the last quarter but their disciplined approach saw them concede just five penalties – half as many as any other team in the competition.

After the match, captain Siwan Lillicrap said the result demonstrated the impact professionalism can have on a team – 12 Welsh players were made professional in January and another 12 are on semi-pro deals.

“The growth we have made in such a short space of time has been phenomenal,” she said. “It’s a super happy place to be at the moment. The girls are enjoying each other’s company.

“There’s lots of singing and lots of smiles on faces. That’s the result of a lot of hard work and determination. The wind will be in our sails going into the next game. We want to put a good performance at Cardiff Arms Park in front of our home crowd.”

Wales’ revigorated form and Scotland’s promising attack should make for a tight Test match. After all, there were only seven points in it last year when Scotland beat Wales 27-20 at Scotstoun.

The record 4,200-plus fans expected at the Arms Park should make for a cracking atmosphere too. The ticket sales already exceed the 4,113 crowd at Wales v England in 2017, which is thought to be the record attendance for a standalone women’s Test in Wales.

So who is lining up for the teams and how can fans watch? Here’s all you need to know with our Women’s Six Nations Wales v Scotland Preview.

What’s the big team news?

Wales have not made any changes to the match-day 23 that beat Ireland in round one.

Alisha Butchers was the Player of the Match in Dublin and links up again with Alex Callender and Siwan Lillicrap in the back row.

Jasmine Joyce will be looking to add another try to her tally after scoring against Ireland and Donna Rose will be hoping to make a similar impact off the bench after touching down for a brace last weekend.

Scotland, meanwhile, have made four changes to their starting XV from their loss to England due to injuries and illness.

Shona Campbell starts at full-back and Emma Orr wins her first cap at outside-centre. In the forwards, Sarah Bonar starts at lock after she missed the England match due to her commitments with the RAF and Evie Gallagher comes into the back row.

There were two late changes on the bench where Anne Young and Hannah Smith replaced Katie Dougan and Coreen Grant.

Hooker Lana Skeldon will also win her 50th cap in this Test.

What have the head coaches said?

Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham: “We are in no way underestimating Scotland. They are a tough team and have grown cohesion having spent a lot of time together during their campaign to qualify for the World Cup.

“Their scoreline against England didn’t reflect their performance and they will come down looking to bounce back. We are expecting a tough challenge but one we are looking forward to.”

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson: “When we didn’t compound errors and looked comfortable, we put England under some good pressure but we need to be a little bit more clinical.

“If we can play with the speed and intensity, and put the same pressure on we put England under, we’ll cause Wales some problems.”

What time is kick-off and is it on TV?

The match will kick off at 4.45pm (UK & Ireland time, 5.45pm in France) on Saturday 2 April at Cardiff Arms Park.

Tickets are available for £10 for adults and £5 for children via the Cardiff Rugby ticketing homepage.

The match will also be available to watch on BBC Two, BBC Two Wales and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Virgin Media Two in Ireland. For more information on how to watch the match from elsewhere in the world see our Women’s Six Nations live stream guide.

Joy Neville is the referee, with Nikki O’Donnell and Katherine Ritchie the assistant referees. The television match official is Chris Assmus.

What are the line-ups?

Wales: Kayleigh Powell; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Jones, Kerin Lake, Jasmine Joyce; Elinor Snowsill, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips, Cerys Hale, Natalia John, Gwen Crabb, Alisha Butchers, Alex Callender, Siwan Lillicrap (captain).

Replacements: Kelsey Jones, Cara Hope, Donna Rose, Sioned Harries, Bethan Lewis, Ffion Lewis, Robyn Wilkins, Sisilia Tuipulotu.

Scotland: Shona Campbell; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Megan Gaffney; Helen Nelson, Jenny Maxwell, Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon, Christine Belisle, Emma Wassell, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (captain), Evie Gallagher, Jade Konkel.

Replacements: Jodie Rettie, Panashe Muzambe, Anne Young, Lyndsay O’Donnell, Louise McMillan, Caity Mattinson, Meryl Smith, Hannah Smith.

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