Scotland’s training squad for the 2024 Women’s Six Nations has been released and it’s a mostly familiar core with a smattering of new names – including several who have really impressed in the recent Celtic Challenge matches.
It has been confirmed that Francesca McGhie and Eva Donaldson are now on full-time contracts. Our three GB7s players – Shona Campbell, Rhona Lloyd and Lisa Thomson – are now on dual contracts with Scotland with agreed international releases, which hopefully increases the chances of seeing them a lot of them in the Six Nations. All three are named in the squad. Finally, Beth Blacklock and Nikki Simpson have both been awarded development contracts to allow them to train more.
Of the players who miss out, Simpson must have been closest to a call up, given that contract news. Others that must have been near to making the squad include her Glasgow colleague Sophie Anderson, as well as Edinburgh’s Sarah Denholm and pretty much any of the impressive Edinburgh front rowers.
Some of those players are unlucky to be in areas of real strength in depth for this Scotland squad – for example stand-off Denholm is competing with Helen Nelson, Meryl Smith and Blacklock, all of whom play both 10 and 12 regularly in the English PWR.
However, there is likely to be a “futures” programme running alongside (in lieu of a formal u20 competition) where you’d expect to see many of these and the other stand out youngsters from Glasgow and Edinburgh getting an opportunity.
Injury-wise, things are not as bad as they could be: the biggest miss is Harlequins Jade Konkel, while contracted players Evie Wills, Liz Musgrove and Jenny Maxwell are also absent. Maxwell appears to be needing more game time before she reaches full fitness, so could potentially be back in the mix in a few weeks. But Rachel McLachlan (who has been absent from Sale with injury for the past couple of months) has been included, suggesting she is near a return to fitness. Her Sale colleague Molly Wright is also in the squad after returning to play from a long lay-off last week.
Supposing McLachlan isn’t fully ready to play for the first match against Wales, it might open an opportunity for one of the Corstorphine Cougars pair of Merryn Gunderson and Alex Stewart, both of whom excelled in the back row for Edinburgh in the Celtic Challenge.
Stewart seemed to be all over the pitch, especially at the breakdown and in defence, while Gunderson’s work rate, tackling and carrying were all impressive. The other uncapped forward in the squad is Fi McIntosh of Saracens and Edinburgh, another stand-out in the Celtic Challenge – she made the WXV squad but is yet to make her test debut.
There are also new faces in the backs, three from Edinburgh and a call-up for Meg Varley of Bristol. Varley has been a regular in a very talented Bristol team this season, scoring five tries, and will add to the really strong competition for places on the wings.
Cieron Bell has also been on try-scoring form for both Edinburgh and Edinburgh University and must be in with a real chance of winning a first cap. The final two uncapped players, 18-year-old winger Nicole Flynn and 21-year- old scrum half Leia Brebner-Holden, have also impressed in the Celtic Challenge, with no big drop-off in level when Brebner-Holden came off the bench to replace either the more experienced Maxwell or Caity Mattinson for Edinburgh.
This pair of youngsters may find a few senior players in their way of first caps, but we’ll hopefully get to see them and they’ll learn a lot from the environment.
Bryan Easson has been wedded to consistency of selection – which certainly paid off in the WXV2 victory – and with World Cup Qualification available through this year’s Six Nations tournament, we may see very similar teams to last year
The qualification process for next year’s World Cup 2025 in England is somewhat complex at this point, but as confirmed this week, England and France are already qualified as semi-finalists in the last World Cup so the next-best finisher should secure the remaining guaranteed European slot as tournament “winner”. Five more places are open to the winners of the other various tournaments like the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, or Pacific Four Series, barring New Zealand and Canada who are already qualified.
After that the six highest-placed and as-yet unqualified teams in WXV1 and WXV2 will also qualify. Finishing fourth or fifth in the Six Nations guarantees a spot in WXV2. The sixth placed team will have to play off with Spain for the remaining European place in WXV2. And in the event of an unexpected bump in the road and Scotland end up in WXV3, there is still a strong chance of qualifying from there but with a slightly more tortuous route.
This means, once again, every place in the table in the Women’s Six Nations has something extra riding on it. The Celtic Challenge has demonstrated how good the players knocking on the door of the squad are, a few have now broken through and there will be no complacency from the rest.
This is a really strong, increasingly experienced and cohesive squad who will be looking to build on their WXV2 victory and challenge for both the away wins that have evaded them recently and push two of the best in the world at home, in front of what looks set to be record crowds.
Forwards
Leah Bartlett (Leicester Tigers)*
Christine Belisle (Loughborough Lightning)*
Sarah Bonar (Harlequins)*
Elliann Clarke (Bristol Bears)*
Lisa Cockburn (Leicester Tigers)*
Eva Donaldson (Leicester Tigers)*
Evie Gallagher (Bristol Bears)*
Merryn Gunderson (Corstorphine Cougars/Edinburgh Rugby)**
Rachel Malcolm (Loughborough Lightning)*
Elis Martin (Leicester Tigers)*
Fiona McIntosh (Saracens)**
Rachel McLachlan (Sale Sharks)*
Louise McMillan (Saracens)*
Lana Skeldon (Bristol Bears)*
Alex Stewart (Corstorphine Cougars/Edinburgh Rugby)**
Emma Wassell (Loughborough Lightning)*
Molly Wright (Sale Sharks)*
Anne Young (Sale Sharks)*
Backs
Cieron Bell (University of Edinburgh/Edinburgh Rugby)**
Beth Blacklock (Saracens)*
Leia Brebner-Holden (Gloucester-Hartpury/Cheltenham Tigers)**
Shona Campbell (GB 7s)*
Nicole Flynn (University of Edinburgh/Edinburgh Rugby)**
Coreen Grant (Saracens)*
Caity Mattinson (Gloucester-Hartpury)*
Mairi McDonald (Exeter Chiefs)*
Francesca McGhie (Leicester Tigers)*
Rhona Lloyd (GB 7s/ Stade Bordelais)*
Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning)*
Emma Orr (Heriot’s Blues/Edinburgh Rugby)*
Lisa Thomson (GB 7s)*
Chloe Rollie (Loughborough Lightning)*
Meryl Smith (Bristol Bears)*
Megan Varley (Bristol Bears)**
*Contracted player
**Uncapped player
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