Given that it was Scotland women’s first win in Wales for 20 years lots of people will remember the 2024 Cardiff Arms Park clash between the nations – and one person who will remember it very fondly is Alex Stewart.
The game took place on March 23 in round one of the Six Nations and a few weeks before Stewart had been relatively unknown to the wider rugby public.
By the end of that game her name was certainly getting talked about though as, then aged 19, the Corstorphine Cougars and Edinburgh Rugby openside threw herself into the biggest game of her career and performed very well as Scotland held on to win 20-18.
“It was a special day for myself and my mum and dad,” recounted Stewart about that afternoon in the Welsh capital when parents Kirsty and Breck were there watching.
“There had been a lot to take on board in the weeks running up to that game in terms of getting up to speed with what Scotland do in defence and attack and all of the experienced players around me really helped.
“Rachel McLachlan, who plays the same position as me and was making her way back from injury, was particularly helpful and I just tried to take as much detail on board in the pre-Six Nations camps as I could.
“I didn’t really expect to start that first match against Wales, but once you are in the training squad you have to just do your best and show what you are about and when I got told I was going to be playing it was a mixture of excitement and nerves.
“I tried to keep calm over the next couple of days and just focus on what my role was, but as we headed towards the stadium and things started to build up pre-match I did get a bit nervous.
“Once the game got started that was probably the best bit because I didn’t have time to focus on what was going on around the game and such like, I just had to focus on the game.
“It went by like a flash and it was just so special helping the team get the win and then having mum and dad in the changing room for my cap presentation soon after.
Stewart made 17 successful tackles during that match, topped the stats by arriving at 27 attacking breakdowns and made more ruck cleanouts than anyone else with 10.
That is certainly one way to arrive on the international scene and, now 20, she has been a key part of the Scotland set-up over the last 12 months and now has eight caps under her belt.
The Edinburgh University third year law student, who came through the ranks at Liberton High School, Lismore and Edinburgh Harlequins before moving onto Cougars, is heading into this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations off the back of helping her club win the Arnold Clark Premiership and then captaining Edinburgh Rugby in the Celtic Challenge.
“I don’t really look back on the last 12 months as just one big chunk, rather than lots of different things as you can never look too far ahead,” Stewart continued.
“Coming out of the Six Nations last year I felt that I had learnt so much as a player and as a person over that period and I felt much more comfortable around the group that I had done during my first ever day in camp.
“The experiences in that tournament left me with plenty to work on heading into the September Tests and WXV 2 later in the year.
“I really enjoyed going to South Africa and being with the group for a long period of time because I think it helped us solidify the togetherness and bonds we have ahead of a busy 2025.
“It was frustrating to miss out on the final game against Australia with a head knock, but the whole experience was good and Cape Town is a great place.
“After that it was so good to get back with the Cougars girls and help them win the league. The others in the squad had done a lot of the hard yards during the campaign and it was nice to help us get over the line in the last couple of games, the girls deserved it for the way that had played.
“Captaining Edinburgh more recently has been a good experience too. There were some tough games, but I think being given that role has helped my development and I had two good vice-captains Aila Ronald and Hannah Walker [both who are in the current Scotland wider squad] there to help me out.”
Scotland open their Six Nations campaign against Wales once again at Hive Stadium on March 22, the beginning of a big tournament and a big year with the Rugby World Cup coming in England in a few months’ time.
“There is a real excitement around heading into the Six Nations,” Stewart concluded.
“It is different for me this time because I am not the uncapped newbie, but for me nothing much changes I just want to keep setting myself high standards and contribute to Scotland wins.
“It is really good to have a home match first up and all of the focus is on that game because we know what tough opponents Wales can be and last year showed us that.”
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations runs from March 22 to April 26 and Scotland start versus Wales at Hive Stadium in round one – get tickets for all three Scotland home games here.
Scotland women’s training squad (number of caps in brackets, uncapped players in bold)
Forwards
Leah Bartlett – Leicester Tigers (38)
Christine Belisle – Loughborough Lightning (40)
Becky Boyd – Loughborough Lightning (uncapped)
Sarah Bonar – Harlequins (42)
Elliann Clarke – Bristol Bears (15)
Hollie Cunningham – Bristol Bears (uncapped)
Evie Gallagher – Bristol Bears (31)
Adelle Ferrie – Edinburgh Rugby/Corstorphine Cougars (uncapped)
Jade Konkel – Harlequins (66)
Rachel Malcolm – Loughborough Lightning (52, C)
Elis Martin – Loughborough Lightning (15)
Rachel McLachlan – Montpellier (46)
Aila Ronald – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh (uncapped)
Molly Poolman – Edinburgh Rugby/Watsonians (uncapped)
Lana Skeldon – Bristol Bears (74)
Alex Stewart – Edinburgh Rugby/Corstorphine Cougars (8)
Anne Young – Loughborough Lightning (15)
Molly Wright – Sale Sharks (23)
Backs
Leia Brebner-Holden – Loughborough Lightning (5)
Beth Blacklock – Saracens (3)
Rhea Clarke – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh (uncapped)
Rhona Lloyd – Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais (52)
Caity Mattinson – Trailfinders Women (27)
Francesca McGhie – Leicester Tigers (17)
Liz Musgrove – Trailfinders Women (18)
Helen Nelson – Loughborough Lightning (65, V-C)
Rachel Philipps – Sale Sharks – (uncapped)
Chloe Rollie – Trailfinders Women (70)
Lucia Scott – Edinburgh Rugby/Gloucester-Hartpury (3)
Emma Orr – Bristol Bears (24)
Lisa Thomson – Trailfinders Women (64)
Hannah Walker – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh (uncapped)
Evie Wills – Leicester Tigers (3)
Meg Varley – Bristol Bears (uncapped)
Day trainers invited into camp to support their development (all uncapped)
Forwards
Talei Tawake – Edinburgh Rugby/Watsonians
Holland Bogan – Glasgow Warriors/Stirling County
Natasha Logan – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh
Emily Coubrough – Glasgow Warriors/University of Edinburgh
Backs
Hannah Ramsay – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh
Poppy Mellanby – Glasgow Warriors/Biggar
Alex Stewart is pictured with her parents in Cardiff last year
GH Media will be covering Scotland women’s journey right through to Rugby World Cup 2025, bringing insight from within the camp throughout and featuring other parts of the game in this country too – thanks to those already supporting the content, if you or your company would like to get involved please email gary@gh-media.co.uk