Scotland have a “point to prove” in their under-21 Six Nations Series final game of three against Italy at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Sunday (1pm, live on YouTube).
That is the view of head coach Louise Dalgliesh who has so far seen her charges beaten by England and France.
Although England won 51-12 on April 18 in the capital, there were some positives to take away from that performance.
Unfortunately, there were no positives at all to take away from last week’s 113-0 thumping in Tarbes against a rampant France side.
The coaches and the squad have tried to park that very tough experience quickly though and are now focused on finishing on a high versus Italy on Sunday.
So far in the competition Italy have lost 55-8 to Ireland and were edged out 33-29 by Wales last week and Dalgliesh said: “We can’t hide from the scoreline last week in France.
“The French team were relentless on the day and it probably does reflect the chasm between the programmes at this level at the moment. As a group we have taken some harsh lessons from that and we don’t have any choice but to improve and move forward.
“Having Italy at home this weekend coming up has given us the chance to refocus very quickly and the players have the opportunity to put in a performance that more accurately reflects the ability in the group.
“Sunday will be a big physical test for us, we expect the Italians to build on their first two games and bring high-intensity, attacking rugby.
“We have a point to prove after last week and the players are excited about going out and doing just that in front of our home support at the Hive.”
For this game, Aisla Merryweather, Isobel Twigger, Catriona Moody, Ceitidh Ainsworth, Lucy MacRae, Nicole Flynn and Freya MacColl come into the starting XV and full squad members Aila Ronald, Rianna Darroch and Hannah Ramsay are added to the bench. Hooker Megan Hyland is captain again.
- In the other under-21 Six Nations Series matches on Sunday, Wales and Ireland meet (2pm, live on YouTube) and France are in England (3pm, live on YouTube).
Freya MacColl is pictured in action versus England – thanks to N50 Photography
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