World Rugby have today confirmed the match schedule and opponents as Scotland look to defend their WXV 2 title, with the side facing Italy, Japan and Australia.
Cape Town in South Africa will play host to the six-team WXV 2 competition with matches being played in a cross-pool format.
The first fixture takes place on Friday 27 September at DHL Stadium in as the hosts, South Africa, take on Japan. On Saturday 28 September an exciting double-header will follow with Australia versus Wales ahead of Scotland taking on Italy, last year’s second-placed team.
The tournament then moves to the Athlone Stadium hosting the second and third rounds of WXV 2 where Scotland will take on Japan, followed by Australia which will conclude the tournament.
Scotland secured their spot in the second tier of the competition, WXV 2, after finishing fourth in the recent Guinness Women’s Six Nations championship.
The WXV competition will determine the final six Women’s Rugby World Cup places.
Ticket information for WXV 2 will follow in due course and details will be found on the official WXV website.
Scotland Women to host Wales and Fiji in Autumn Tests
Scotland Women will play two international fixtures this autumn against Wales and Fiji, with the matches providing crucial competitive Tests ahead of the WXV 2 tournament taking place in South Africa later in the year.
Scotland’s schedule will begin with a Test against Wales, who are currently eighth in the World Rugby rankings, at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Friday 6 September (kick-off 7.35pm).
Wales have recently qualified for WXV 2 after a 53-20 win over Spain in their qualifier play-off. Scotland secured an historic seventh Test win in a row, against Wales in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, ending a 20-year-long spell of defeats in Cardiff with an 18-20 victory.
For the first time in history, Scotland Women will face Fiji on Saturday 14 September, kicking off at 4.45pm ay Hive Stadium.
The Fijiana side first began competing on the international stage in 2006 and are currently positioned 13th in the World Rugby rankings.
In 2022, they created history when they scored the third-highest match points in both Men’s and Women’s international history at the Oceania Championship when they defeated Papua New Guinea 152–0.
In June this year, Fiji topped the table in the 2024 Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship to directly qualify for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and WXV 3 after recording three wins against Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.
Scotland will go on to face Italy, Japan and Australia in Cape Town to contest for the WXV 2 title.
On the announcement, Head Coach Bryan Easson said: “Having the opportunity to host Wales and Fiji as part of our preparations for WXV 2 is a really exciting prospect, which will give us a chance to grow and develop our squad ahead of what will be a very competitive tournament in South Africa.
“After recording a sell-out crowd against England in the Six Nations earlier this year, we relish the opportunity to put in strong performances against two quality sides and give our fans an exciting experience to wave us off to Cape Town.
“We are really excited about the next few months ahead of us and our ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2025 Rugby World Cup.”
Alongside confirming the Test matches, Scottish Rugby has today announced ticketing information for the upcoming Women’s season.
The Scotland Season Pass for the women’s team was introduced for season 2023/24. It worked in the same way as the equivalent pass for the men’s team, giving fans the opportunity to choose their seat (or standing area) for every home game during the season.
The 2024/25 Scotland Women Season Pass will include the two autumn Tests plus the three home games in the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations, against Ireland, Wales and Italy.
Additional packages are available for the two Tests, and further information on individual tickets for the 2025 Six Nations will be confirmed later in the year in line with the fixtures schedule.
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