With starting No.8 Emily Coubrough set to become Scotland cap 249 on Saturday versus Wales in the Women’s Six Nations opener, one of Demi Swann, Holland Bogan or Rianna Darroch is likely to become cap number 250.
It is a milestone number for ‘stattos’, but for all three of the uncapped bench players they will not care a jot if they become cap number 250, 251 or 252 as long as they get on the pitch at the Principality Stadium for their debuts and they can help Scotland win.
Ahead of the big round one match (4.40pm, live on BBC) let’s find out a bit more about the three potential debutantes…
Demi Swann
Demi Swann, 30, is a loosehead prop who now plays for Exeter Chiefs in the PWR in England and grew up in Canada.
She began playing rugby while studying at Carleton University in Ottawa and at the University of Toronto and is eligible to play for Scotland through her mother from Troon in Ayrshire. When 27 in 2023, she was with Worcester and was part of the Scotland squad that won the WXV 2 title in South Africa, but did not earn a cap yet.
Swann has bided her time and an injury to Anne Young has opened the door for her to wear jersey number 17 this weekend.
“Obviously Demi’s been around PWR for a long time,” Scotland head coach Sione Fukofuka said.
The injury to Anne [Young] really had an impact on our experience and our depth at loosehead and Demi is someone whose experienced as she plays week in, week out against PWR opposition.
“We feel that she’s in a really good position to come on at the back end of the game and be able to provide us with the platform that we’re going to need to close things out.”
Holland Bogan
Second-row/six Holland Bogan, 21, was born in Scotland, but spent a year of her early life in Florida and then around 10 years in Amsterdam.
It was in the capital of the Netherlands that her parents had met a few years before and Bogan previously said: “After they gave me my name, I was known for a while as Holland in Holland!
“I have an older sister so I am not sure why I was the one to get named after the country, but it is kind of cool.”
When back in Scotland, Bogan was playing football in her teens at Eastwood High School in Glasgow when the penny dropped that she really wanted to give rugby a go.
She started her rugby journey with Cartha Queens Park before moving onto Stirling County where she now plays along with being co-captain of Glasgow Warriors.
On the Scotland under-20 cap, Fukofuka said: “She is a player with a lot of potential, there’s a lot of excitement around her.
“She brings a physicality and an energy that, off the bench in the last quarter of the game, we feel can really have an impact for us.”
Rianna Darroch
This time last year, Aviemore’s Rianna Darroch, 20, was still learning the scrum-half position and was representing Glasgow Warriors for the first time.
It was a steep learning curve for her, but one she took in her stride and, 12 months later, she is reaping the benefits and Fukofuka has clearly seen something that he likes in the Hillhead Jordanhill player’s game.
A keen swimmer, Darroch, a Scotland under-20 cap, took it up aged 15 after sessions were started at her school.
She then played for Highland in Inverness, Caledonia regional sides and Scotland under-18 before making the move to Glasgow and continuing her progression at pace in the sport post-school.
“Rianna has come into our environment and done very well,” Fukofuka stated.
“In terms of her ability to kick and get us territory, it gives us a different look in that last quarter of the game if she comes on. She’s been playing well for Glasgow, but this will be a test for her and she knows it, but she has a skill set that we feel will really add value to our squad.”
- The other round one games see France play Italy at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble (12.25pm UK time, live on BBC) and defending champions England face Ireland at Allianz Stadium Twickenham (2.25pm, live on BBC).
Demi Swann, Holland Bogan and Rianna Darroch are pictured
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