SHADE MUNRO has brought in fresh legs and made a few adjustments to his squad ahead of their clash with France at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld this Friday (11 March, kick-off 6pm) – but the Scotland Women coach has by-and-large kept faith in the side which battled well in the second half when losing 22-7 to Italy in their last outing.
Murrayfield Wanderers duo Lisa Robertson and Helen Nelson have joined the squad and could feature for the first time in this year’s Six Nations campaign if they come off the bench.
A number of positional changes have been made in the back-line: with Megan Gaffney moving from centre to wing; Lisa Thomson, the 18-year-old who made her debut against England and scored against Italy in Bologna, shifting from inside to outside centre; and captain Lisa Martin swapping the number ten for the number twelve jersey. Sarah Law get the nod at stand-off.
Munro has made only one change to the Scottish pack, with the experienced Heather Lockhart being promoted from the bench to start at loose-head prop following – meaning that it is an all Hillhead/Jordanhill front-row.
“It’s great to be back in camp and working with the players to build on the many positives from our game against Italy. While our discipline let us down at times, we created plenty of opportunities and played some fluid rugby,” said Munro.
“There is a massive desire to improve, and we’ve seen that in the way the team has performed in each game. They’re proud to play for Scotland and are doing everything in their power to close the gap with other nations.”
“It’s exciting to see the team grow and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do against France, who will no doubt be physical and another challenge, but one I know the players will relish.”
Scotland’s last Six Nations victory was against France back in 2010.
Scotland Women team to play France Women at Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld Friday March 11 (kick-off 6pm) –
15 – Chloe Rollie* (Murrayfield Wanderers)
14 – Megan Gaffney (Hillhead/Jordanhill)
13 – Lisa Thomson* (Melrose RFC / Edinburgh University)
12 – Lisa Martin* (Murrayfield Wanderers) CAPTAIN
11 – Rhona Lloyd (Murrayfield Wanderers / Edinburgh University)
10 – Sarah Law* (Murrayfield Wanderers / Edinburgh University)
9 – Jennifer Maxwell (Leeds Beckett University / Lichfield RFC)
1 – Heather Lockhart (Hillhead/Jordanhill)
2 – Lana Skeldon* (Hillhead/Jordanhill)
3 – Lindsey Smith (Hillhead/Jordanhill)
4 – Emma Wassell* (Murrayfield Wanderers)
5 – Deborah McCormack (Richmond RFC)
6 – Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead/Jordanhill)
7 – Karen Dunbar (RHC Cougars / Edinburgh University)
8 – Jade Konkel* (Hillhead/Jordanhill)
Substitutes –
16 – Sarah Quick (Murrayfield Wanderers)
17 – Lisa Robertson* (Murrayfield Wanderers)
18 – Tracy Balmer (Worcester RFC)
19 – Fiona Sim (Saracens RFC)
20 – Anna Stodter (Saracens RFC)
21 – Helen Nelson (Murrayfield Wanderers / Edinburgh University)
22 – Lauren Harris (Melrose RFC)
23 – Eilidh Sinclair* (Murrayfield Wanderers)
* BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy Stage 2 players 2015/16
* BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy Stage 2 players 2015/16