Charlotte Russell says she was a “bit emotional” as she lined up for the anthems ahead of her Scotland under-20 debut versus England.
The English side came out on top 31-17 in the Six Nations Women’s Summer Series opener in Ystrad Mynach’s Centre for Sporting Excellence in Wales on Saturday in the end, but Russell was excellent in the second-row and carried the ball hard.
There were plenty of other positives for Scotland to take from the outing into this Friday’s match with Wales and the final game with Ireland on July 17 too and, for Russell, the England game was a big moment in her rugby journey.
Injuries in 2023 and 2024 had restricted her to just a few minutes on the pitch with the Scotland under-18s, so this really was her proper debut for her country.
“I was a bit emotional, definitely,” the 19-year-old who recently won the Sarah Beaney Cup with Watsonians said.
“My mum and dad were there in the ground along with my grandpa, so it was a big moment for me and it was definitely a big moment for them as well which made it even more special.
“I was a bit emotional during the anthems, but then I got into ‘game mode’ and just focused on doing my job for the team.
“And I thought the game was really good fun.
“I enjoyed it, it was a challenge and it was definitely different to what I have done before in terms of playing in the Premiership in Scotland and a little bit of exposure to the Celtic Challenge with Edinburgh Rugby, but I just got stuck in.
“I think we definitely need to take some confidence from our performance against England forward into the rest of the tournament.
“Our set piece went well as a pack and we just need to back ourselves with that.
“There are loads of positives to take forward and all our focus is on the Wales game now.”
Russell began her rugby journey in the Mini section at local club Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway and was also adept at netball in her youth.
Rugby got the nod though as she got older and since her teens she has played for Strathallan, Stirling County, Corstorphine Cougars and now Watsonians while she studies sports science and will head into third year at Heriot-Watt University after the summer.
Looking back on the final two years of her schooling that she spent at Strathallan she said: “Andrew Henderson at the school started a rugby academy, there were 10 players involved and I was one of them.
“That allowed me to start working on things in the gym a little bit more than before while we had some small skills sessions in our free periods and we were able to focus on our rugby a lot more in general. That couple of years definitely helped me to get to where I am now.
“Aicha Sutcliffe was also part of that academy at Strathallan as well so it was really cool for us to be able to play for Scotland together the other day, like a full circle moment.
“Moving forward a bit, the 2024/25 season just gone with Watsonians was really good too.
“We worked really hard as a unit and winning the Sarah Beaney Cup final at Murrayfield recently gave me a lot of confidence coming into this under-20s programme.
“And before all of that I would not have fallen in love with rugby had it not been for Wigtownshire.
“I love going back there all the time and my family are still in the local area and the club has been really supportive of me. Coming from a small club has served me well as it taught me to work hard and appreciate being part of a team from a young age.”
Russell and co have Wales to play next on Friday (6pm) and then they will face Ireland on July 17 (1pm).
Scotland supporters will be able to follow every moment of the action from the Summer Series as all matches will be streamed live on the Six Nations under-20 YouTube channel and the Scottish Rugby website.
The matchday 23 to take on Wales is due to be named on Thursday.
Scotland’s under-20 squad for the Six Nations Women’s Summer Series
Forwards: Emily Coubrough, Karis Craig, Lily Crisp, Eilidh Fleming, Poppy Fletcher, Merryn Gunderson, Megan Hyland, Kaylee McHugh, Sophie Price, Megan Riach, Charlotte Russell, Aicha Sutcliffe, Faye Sutherland, Louise Taperell, Gemma Thomson, Isobel Twigger, Holly Wilson, Aisha Zameer.
Backs: Ceitidh Ainsworth, Lisa Brown, Rianna Darroch, Rebekah Douglas, Nicole Flynn, Scarlett Haddow, Emily Love, Freya MacColl, Lucy MacRae, Holly McIntyre, Poppy Mellanby, Emily Norval.
Tickets for Scotland-England at Murrayfield in April 2026 can be purchased here.
Charlotte Russell is pictured – thanks to Scottish Rugby
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