It was a tough end to the U18 Six Nations Festival at Wellington College in England for Scotland with a defeat against Wales, but all of the players involved at the event have taken a lot from the experience.
The young women were in Berkshire for the showpiece event and, first up, they drew with Italy 26-26 in a full-length game on April 2.
In short 35-minute games they then lost to England 22-14 and were just beaten by Ireland 12-7 on April 6 before running out of steam and being beaten by a rampant Welsh side in a full-length game on April 9. France were also at the tournament.
After the 45-12 loss to Wales – in which Neve Murray and Lucy Symon scored the Scottish tries and Niamh Waters kicked a conversion – head coach Lindsey Smith said: “We didn’t have as much possession in this game and we didn’t adapt to the way the game was going, but that’s a real learning for us and for some players that might be the first time they’ve experienced that.
“I thought in the first 15 minutes we were a bit slow, but we grew into the game, our set piece was okay and the first up tackling was good, but we maybe need more breakdown work around in terms of when to go for it and when to leave it.
“We showed we can defend in our ‘22’, there was real bravery and commitment and I think that’s really promising for us.
“The players have really grown in confidence across the festival, especially in our defence and we have shown real urgency in goal line defence. There’s been big improvements in our set piece and the leadership skills and we’ve got players calling lineouts in at this level and showing they can do it.
“I also thought the players handled the exposure to this level really well, especially since this is the highest level a lot of the players have played in and the performance behaviours on and off the pitch were what we wanted to see as well.”
- Now, the Women’s U21 Series is next with the May 2 match in France now confirmed as a 2pm UK time kick-off.
Action from the U18 Six Nations Festival game versus Wales is pictured – thanks to Scottish Rugby/Six Nations
The Women’s Six Nations is here and the 2026 event runs from April 11 to May 17 and, between April 6 and May 20, GH Media will be covering Scotland’s campaign and the wider tournament – keep an eye out for content and thanks to everyone who supports GH Media’s work within women’s rugby