There will be lots of people cheering Scotland women on at the Hive Stadium on Saturday, but some of the loudest cheers might be in Weymouth down south.
The national team are taking on title chasing France in round four of the Women’s Six Nations in Edinburgh (4.15pm, live on BBC) as the fifth placed hosts look to put in a good performance after a win against Wales was followed up by defeats to England and Italy before the fallow week.
After earning her first two caps in last year’s tournament before hamstring and calf injuries saw her unfortunately miss out on the Rugby World Cup, Bristol Bears’ second-row Hollie Cunningham has started all three international games so far in 2026.
This time around she will be looking to make an impact off the bench on what is set to be her sixth cap – and grandmother Gwenda Cunningham will be glued to the television at home in Weymouth watching proudly.
Cunningham’s paternal grandmother was born in Aberdeen and raised in Scotland during her early life before relocating down south and that link is how the consistent PWR performer is eligible to play for the country.
“She sends me texts before and after every game which is lush and I know how much it means to her to see me representing Scotland,” Cunningham, 26, said.
“My late grandfather used to play rugby and although gran’s not able to come to games I’m hoping that I’m doing her proud.
“My grandfather was a Cornish man so he played a lot in Cornwall whereas my granny was born in Aberdeen. He was a second-row as well, he was around six foot two and kind of similar build to me so I think that’s where I get my stature from.
“Unfortunately, he passed away back in 2019, but he was an avid rugby fan. He was more of a rugby fan than a football one and I imagine he’d be very proud of myself and my brother for continuing to play a sport that he loved.”
After an excellent debut in the Six Nations win over Wales 12 months ago, disaster struck very early on in game two out in France when Cunningham suffered a serious hamstring injury.
That left her with a race against time to make it back for the World Cup in England in August and September and, ultimately, it was a race that she lost.
“I was in the process of coming back and I don’t think my hamstring was quite responding to the rehab as well as I wanted it to,” Cunningham recounts.
“I think consequently, because other parts of my body were having to compensate, I then tore my calf.
“And just with the nature of that injury and the degree of the tear – as well as my hamstring issue – there just wasn’t enough time.
“The worry was that if I had a bit of a weak hamstring and a kind of non-functional calf then something else might give in if I kept pushing.
“It was quite hard, but, ultimately, touch wood there will be more World Cups for me to go to.
The longevity of my playing career needed to be the priority rather than trying to force myself to play when I wasn’t really fit and it would not have been the best thing for the team either.”
France go into this weekend’s match as big favourites, but there is a real desire from the Scotland squad to improve on the flat performance versus Italy last time out.
Cunningham concluded: “I think the main focus is making sure that we don’t get too carried away with focusing on the French or worrying about how they play.
“They’re a very much a momentum-based team so, if you let them in, they’ll run with it.
“They’ve got a very good offloading game so I think our priority is just making sure that we stay ‘Scotland focused’, making sure that we get our processes right, we get our set piece right and so on.
“It’s about making sure that we keep building on the good things we have done of late in order to put the French fire out.
“We love being at the Hive, it’s somewhere that we’re very passionate about and that we call home.
“I think it’ll be a tough game, the French are particularly tough as they are very physical, but we will give it everything we have got.”
- In the other games in the Six Nations on Saturday, Italy are playing England at 2pm UK time (live on BBC) and Ireland are taking on Wales at 6.30pm (live on BBC).
Hollie Cunningham is pictured in action last time out away in Italy – thanks to Women’s 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