Anne Young has built up some strong connections on the rugby field in recent years as she continues to flourish with Scotland – and she has a close connection off the field with her twin sister Eleanor too.
Whenever Young, the loosehead prop who was recently named in the extended 34-player training squad for the upcoming Guinness Women’s Six Nations, turns out for her country her parents and Eleanor are never far away.
They have watched on proudly as she has earned 15 caps for Scotland since her debut versus Japan in 2021 and they will no doubt be in the stands when the Six Nations kicks off versus Wales at Hive Stadium on March 22 ahead of a massive 2025 of action.
The twins turn 25 on March 17 and Young said of her sibling’s support: “She loves coming to the games to watch me, she loves watching the games and the days out!
“But she would be there regardless and she and my parents have been so supportive over the years and they go to men’s internationals too.
“A lot of my friends are in rugby, so it is good to have someone I’m close to like my sister who can sometimes give a bit of an outsider’s view and a bit of a different perspective.
“It can be easy to be in a bubble and get wrapped up in training and matches, but just speaking to someone else at times who can give you a different viewpoint is good.
“Eleanor was very sport when we were growing up and played netball to a high level before a serious knee injury, but now she is very good at coming to support me all the time and I really value that.”
The twins were born in Hertfordshire in England in early 2000, but both their parents are Scottish and the family moved to Helensburgh when the duo were around 18-months-old.
Young began playing with Helensburgh Minis and has since played for Hillhead Jordanhill, Edinburgh University, Sale Sharks and Loughborough Lightning.
She is just coming off the back of a positive first season with Lightning and is feeling in a good place as a player.
“It has been invaluable for me to get so many minutes and scrums under my belt in the two different environments over the last few months, for sure,” she said about time with Scotland in September and October and then a full PWR regular season between the and a couple of weeks ago.
“You can never get enough scrums in, you are always learning.
Definitely [Loughborough has been the right move], I have loved it and the girls welcomed me in straight away and I feel like I have improved as a player at the club.
“The training sessions and coaching sessions there have been of a high standard and they have pushed my game on a level and I hope to be able to show that during the Six Nations.
“I have learned more to scrummage and work on my skills under fatigue and you can only get that in games. Playing blocks of games in a row has certainly helped me improve parts of my game this season as you learn to back up, back, up, back up performances and keep your levels high.
“I always say that you can never ‘complete’ scrums, I guess in rugby there is nothing that you ever totally complete, each game is totally different and you are always learning and even when I speak to older props they are still learning things and honing their skills.
“There is always something you can learn as a prop. I am definitely better equipped than I was when I was 19 to deal with everything that comes my way, but there is still plenty of learning to go too.”
Young mentions being 19 and she was that age in the summer of 2019 when she was first called up to tour with Scotland to South Africa by then head coach Philip Doyle.
“It honestly feels like a lifetime ago,” she recounted.
“I was obviously 19 and was brand new to the set up and that level of rugby at the time. I was new to the squad, didn’t know anybody and was a bit shy, but it was a great starting point for me and since then I have been at a World Cup, WXV tournaments, picked up a few caps and got my first start last year versus Fiji so all of that has given me more confidence.
“I back myself a lot more now, when you are 19 coming into any new squad can be overwhelming, but I have grown as a player and as a person and I feel comfortable within the group now and excited for what is to come.”
Scotland will have three-day camps last week, this week and WC March 10 and then from WC March 17 it’ll be all eyes on – and full steam ahead – for the Six Nations 2025.
Everything this year is building up to the Rugby World Cup in England in August and September. The Six Nations runs until April 26.
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
Thanks to Anne Young for the photo of her and twin sister Eleanor
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