Three of the four second-rows in the Scotland squad are uncapped going into the Guinness Women’s Six Nations so forwards coach Fraser Brown and skipper Rachel Malcolm have been talking about the new faces.
Bristol Bears’ Hollie Cunningham, 25, 27-year-old Adelle Ferrie of Corstorphine Cougars and Edinburgh Rugby and 20-year-old Becky Boyd of Loughborough Lightning have all been in national camp for the first time in recent weeks and are in contention to be involved against Wales in the tournament opener this weekend. The other second-row in the training group is the experienced Sarah Bonar, 31, who has 42 caps and plays for Harlequins.
Hollie Cunningham: “She’s the type of person that crosses that white line and a switch is flicked”
Hollie Cunningham, a former England under-18 and under-20 cap who trained with the Red Roses in 2024, qualifies through her Aberdeen-born grandmother.
“Hollie has been brilliant all season for Bristol, she is a really intelligent player, she has good skills, she is a good lineout forward, she is a good scrummager and she is very astute and studious in what she is doing,” Fraser Brown said.
Rachel Malcolm added: “Hollie’s obviously come from a pretty exceptional environment at Bristol Bears and you can tell that she’s learnt from some of the best because she is someone who is hilarious and very crazy off the pitch, but she’s the type of person that crosses that white line and a switch is flicked and she is so professional in how she goes about her business.
“She’s very detailed in her approach to how she plays. She’s someone who drives standards and that’s quite rare that you see that, someone coming into a brand new environment and driving standards and challenging from day one.
“But that’s absolutely what she’s done and I think she’ll be really beneficial to our set piece in terms of driving that standard and pushing us forward in that area.
“She’s quite different to any second-row that we’ve probably had. She’s a bit more abrasive in terms of being a big ball carrier, being good around the breakdown and we’ve traditionally had very much lineout options and while Hollie is a good line-out option I think she brings us a little bit more oomph around the park as well.”
Adelle Ferrie: “She is a powerful player and she is good on both sides of the ball”
Adelle Ferrie grew up on her family’s farm near Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway and first played rugby at university for Morgan Rugby Club who were affiliated with Abertay University at the time. Spells then came at Howe of Fife and Carlisle Cougars before settling with Corstorphine.
Fraser Brown said: “Adelle’s been excellent for Edinburgh in the Celtic Challenge, she works hard, she is a powerful player and she is good on both sides of the ball. Her set piece stuff has been good for Edinburgh and good in training here and she just seems to be growing and growing as a player.
“Adelle’s place here shows others that you don’t have to be in a pathway and you don’t have to be 20/21 to come into this group. Adelle has had a bit of a different route to get here, she has been picked and rewarded for good performances for Corstorphine and Edinburgh and it’s a great example to others – no matter where you come from people are watching you if you work hard.”
Rachel Malcolm added: “Adelle is someone who has shot to success in the last year.
“Her physical changes, which she’s obviously put a huge amount of work into, has turned her into a bit of a specimen and I think she’s got a huge amount of potential coming into this squad.
“She’s definitely not as experienced as Hollie for example and I think that’s where us as senior players will support her in that journey throughout this tournament and beyond in terms of helping her to learn the game a little bit more and learn the intricacies of playing at international level. But in terms of her physical ability, she’s phenomenal.”
Becky Boyd: “She has a massive amount of potential”
Becky Boyd of Loughborough Lightning qualifies for Scotland via her Glasgow-born grandfather and was involved with England under-20s last year
Fraser Brown said: “Becky is young in her rugby development, but she has a massive amount of potential.
“She is a proper athlete and she is powerful and the three of them coming in just add something difference in terms of set piece and in attack and defence.”
Rachel Malcolm added: “She is obviously someone who I’m pretty familiar with and she’s probably similar to Adelle in that she’s not necessarily got a huge amount of experience, but physically she has all the attributes and she’s a very good lineout operator as well.
“All three of them are quite different, different levels of experience, but I think with the fact that we’re now in a squad filled with people with 60, 70 caps, we’re in a good place that we can support those girls who don’t necessarily have as much rugby experience and let them reach their potential as quickly as possible.”
The Scotland matchday 23 to play Wales is due to be named on Thursday.
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
Hollie Cunningham is pictured – thanks to Scottish Rugby, Adelle Ferrie is pictured – thanks to Ruby Adam Photography and Becky Boyd is pictured – thanks to N50 Photography
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