SCOTLAND coach Bryan Easson has made three changes for Sunday’s TikTok Women’s Six Nations match against France as the team bid to end a losing run that has now stretched to 11 games. Jade Konkel-Roberts returns from injury, Lisa Thomson has been released by the GB Sevens squad, and Liz Musgrove is promoted from the bench.
Musgrove takes over on the right wing from Coreen Grant, who drops to the bench. Thomson, who will be winning her 50th cap, is at inside centre instead of Meryl Smith, who is also listed in the replacements. And Konkel-Roberts comes into the back row as an indirect replacement for Rachel McLachlan, who drops to the bench with Evie Gallagher switching from No 8 to openside.
One of Scotland’s best performances in recent years was against the French, a 13-13 draw at Scotstoun in 2020, but the home team are strong favourites to win this round-three match. They won 22-14 away to Italy on the tournament’s opening weekend then crushed Ireland 53-3 in Dublin, while Scotland have lost 58-7 away to England and 34-22 at home to Wales.
“It’s brilliant to see Lisa get her 50th cap this Sunday as she’s been a stalwart for Scotland Women for a long time now,” Easson said. “It’s also fantastic to welcome back Jade to the squad. She’s worked really hard on her rehab programme and brings a wealth of experience into the pack.
“Following the first two rounds, we’ve seen two or three things that we need to fix, including continuing working on our speed of play and also being more clinical inside the gold zone area. It’s always a tough challenge going to France but it is also an exciting opportunity which everyone is relishing, especially as we are expecting a huge crowd and a great atmosphere on Sunday.”
Scotland (v France at the Stade de la Rabine, Vannes, Sunday 3.15pm): C Rollie; E Musgrove, E Orr, L Thomson, F McGhie; H Nelson, C Mattinson; L Bartlett, L Skeldon, C Belisle, L O’Donnell, L McMillan, R Malcolm (captain), E Gallagher, J Konkel-Roberts. Substitutes: J Rettie, A Young, E Clarke, E Donaldson, R McLachlan, M McDonald, M Smith, C Grant.
France: E Boulard; C Boujard, M Menager, G Vernier, M Llorens; J Tremouliere, P Bourdon; Y Brosseau, A Sochat, A Khalfaoui, M Picut, A Forlani (captain), A Berthoumieu, G Hermet, C Escudero. Substitutes: E Riffoneau, A Mwayembe, R Bernadou, R Menager, J Annery, A Chambon, C Arbez, M Filopon.