Head Coach Louise Dalgliesh has named her squad for Scotland Women U20’s final match of the Six Nations Summer Series, making ten changes to the matchday 23 ahead of their clash with Ireland on Thursday 16 July at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly (kick-off 1pm).
Poppy Fletcher will lead the side as captain this week, with winger Emily Norval taking on vice-captaincy responsibilities.
In the forward pack, Fletcher and Eilidh Fleming retain their starting spots at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively, while Megan Hyland earns her first start of the Series at hooker. Asiah Zameer partners with Gemma Thomson in the second row, with Thomson making her first start after strong performances off the bench against both England and Wales.
The back row takes shape with Merryn Gunderson remaining at blindside flanker, Lily Crisp starting at openside, and Emily Coubrough named at number eight.
In the backs, the half-back combination sees Emily Love coming in to starting line-up at scrum-half, linking up with Ceitidh Ainsworth who continues at stand-off. The midfield remains unchanged, with Lucy MacRae and Nicole Flynn forming a familiar centre pairing.
The back three features one change from last week’s fixture, as Freya MacColl, who socred two tries against Wales, earns her first start of the Series on the wing, joining Norval and Poppy Mellanby, who continues at full-back.
Dalgliesh has again opted for a five-three split on the bench. Karis Craig and Louise Taperell are named for the first time in the Series, joining Megan Riach as front-row cover, with Holly Wilson and Sophie Price rounding out the forward replacements. The backline cover is provided by scrum-half Rebekah Douglas, centre Holly McIntyre, and winger Lisa Brown.
Looking ahead to Thursday, Dalgliesh said: “We had a really positive start against Wales to start the scores with a penalty early on but from there Wales got four tries from our possession, so we were really disappointed with that but ultimately it came from our own errors.
“I think when you take that first 20 minutes away, we actually outscored them 26-24, so we have shown how competitive we can be when we get the detail right, but we gave ourselves far too big a task to do after that.
“There’s a lot of lessons we are taking away from that in terms of mindset and mentality, and that is what we are taking into this final game against Ireland. I think overall we can be pleased with what we have done in this competition so far, we have shown some fantastic attacking rugby and had glimpses of the physicality we bring in defence.
“Now we’re looking to string all of that together for an 80-minute performance, and ultimately that’s what it will take to get the result we are looking for on Thursday.”
Scotland team to face England in Round 3 of the Six Nations Summer Series, Thursday 17 July, kick-off 1pm (livestreaming from scottishrugby.org).
15. Poppy Mellanby (Biggar RFC / Glasgow Warriors) *
14. Emily Norval – Vice-captain (Stirling County / Glasgow Warriors) *
13. Nicole Flynn (University of Edinburgh / Glasgow Warriors
12. Lucy MacRae (University of Edinburgh / Edinburgh Rugby) *
11. Freya MacColl (Loughborough University / Loughborough Lightning)
10. Ceitidh Ainsworth (Stirling County RFC / Glasgow Warriors) *
9. Emily Love (Corstorphine Cougars / Edinburgh Rugby)*
1. Poppy Fletcher – Captain (University of Edinburgh / Glasgow Warriors) *
2. Megan Hyland (Garioch / Glasgow Warriors) *
3. Eilidh Fleming (Stirling County / Glasgow Warriors) *
4. Aisha Zameer (Hillhead Jordanhill / Glasgow Warriors)
5. Gemma Thomson (Stirling County / Glasgow Warriors)*
6. Merryn Gunderson (Corstorphine Cougars / Edinburgh Rugby) *
7. Lily Crisp (Loughborough University)
8. Emily Coubrough (University of Edinburgh/Glasgow Warriors)*
Replacements
16. Karis Craig (Watsonian FC/Edinburgh Rugby)*
17. Louise Taperell (West of Scotland)*
18. Megan Riach (Garioch/Edinburgh Rugby)*
19. Holly Wilson (Biggar RFC) *
20. Sophie Price (Hillhead Jordanhill / Glasgow Warriors)*
21. Rebekah Douglas (Stirling County / Glasgow Warriors)*
22. Holly McIntyre (University of Edinburgh / Edinburgh Rugby) *
23. Lisa Brown (University of Edinburgh / Edinburgh Rugby) *
* Vodafone Regional Training Centre supported player
Super Flick
Sport Trivia: Who won the WBA junior lightweight title in 1986 and sucessfully defended it 12 times? Answer: Brian Mitchell. He started his boxing career in 1981, and the majority of his fights were abroad due to the political status in South Africa. He finished his career with 46 wins, one loss and two draws. His 12 successful defences of the junior-lightweight title are a record for that boxing division.
Tweety Bun Bun
The length of a cricket pitch is 22 yards i.e. 61.31 m2.