Scrum-half Leia Brebner-Holden enjoyed her first ever Guinness Women’s Six Nations appearance at the weekend and now she wants to see more action in the showpiece tournament.
Last year during the event she was starting to break through into the wider Scottish squad and had to make do with being just outside the matchday 23 for all of the games.
However, a debut came off the bench in the September Test versus Wales and since then she has earned further caps against Fiji, Italy, Japan, Australia and Wales again.
Her two starts have come against Australia in the WXV 2 ‘final’ towards the end of last year and, most recently, in the Six Nations round one clash at Hive Stadium versus Wales on Saturday that Scotland won 24-21.
The 22-year-old Loughborough Lightning player said: “This is my first proper Six Nations experience as I came in last year and was 24th/25th player quite a few times, but didn’t play, so the weekend was a step up for me and to get a start and make an impression on the game I am happy with that.
“I feel like my game has developed quite a lot because I managed to get quite a bit of game time with my club in the PWR season and into the build up to this I think that really helped me get into the place I am now.
“It was always going to be a tough game against Wales and it was just about staying controlled and trying not to be too frantic. It was a quick start, but we took a few breaths, calmed down and began to remember what we are about and playing our game and not letting them dictate things.
“In the second half the weather got worse and it was tight, but we pulled through and that’s just the togetherness of this group. We always stay connected and together and we are getting better at adapting to situations that are in front of us in games.
“The girls got the job done and that was the main thing.”
Born in Somerset, Brebner-Holden began playing rugby as a youngster in Abu Dhabi in the UAE where she was living with her family.
She qualifies for Scotland via her mother from Inverness and her international rugby learning curve and journey is set to continue against France in round two of the Six Nations this coming weekend.
It will be a testing match on Saturday against the world’s number four side in the Stade Marcel-Deflandre in La Rochelle, but the squad will be ready for it.
“I have never played France before in my career and I am excited about this coming weekend and we want to give it a real go,” Brebner-Holden added.
- Scotland No.8 Evie Gallagher will miss this weekend’s round two match in France after being handed a one match suspension following her 20-minute red card versus Wales.
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations runs from March 22 to April 26 and, after a trip to France in round two on March 29, Scotland are at Hive Stadium in round three versus Italy on April 13 – get tickets for the two Scotland remaining home games here.
Leia Brebner-Holden is pictured versus Wales – thanks to Ruby Adam Photography
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