Scotland women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Scotland national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Scotland women's national rugby sevens team.

Scotland
Shirt badge/Association crest
UnionScottish Rugby Union
Head coachBryan Easson
CaptainRachel Malcolm
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current7 (as of 28 October 2024)
Highest5
First international
  10–0 Ireland 
(Edinburgh, Scotland; 14 February 1993)
Biggest win
 Russia 0–84  
(Enköping, Sweden; 17 May 2009)
Biggest defeat
 England 89–0  
(Twickenham, England; 13 March 2011)
World Cup
Appearances5 (First in 1994)
Best result5th, 1994

The Scotland women's national rugby union team represents Scotland in women's international rugby union and is governed by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team competes in the annual Women's Six National Championship and has competed in five of the Women's Rugby World Cups since their hosted debut in 1994. The Nation plays an important role in the rugby world stage.

History

Scotland Women's first official test match was played against Ireland at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh on 14 February 1993, ending in a 10 - 0 win to the hosts. Leading from the front, first Scotland captain Sandra Colamartino was the scorer of both tries.[1]

In April of the following year, Scotland stepped in as alternate host of the 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup, finishing fifth, the team's best appearance to date. Since then, the Women's team have competed in the 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2021 iterations of the tournament.

The early streak of success peaked on 21 March 1998, as a 8–5 win over England in their final match of the Home Nations Championship marked the achievement of a Grand Slam for Scotland.[2]

The Scottish Women's Rugby Union (SWRU) was the national governing body for women's rugby union in Scotland. It was responsible for the governance of women's rugby union within Scotland. Its role was all-encompassing. It went from youth recruitment, through administering all senior based (aged 16+) competition, through to the performance and management of the Scotland women's national rugby union team.

At its AGM in June 2009, the SWRU voted unanimously in favour of amalgamating the Scottish Rugby Union and the SWRU to form an integrated national governing body rugby in Scotland.

Thistle and the anthem

The thistle is the national flower, and also the symbol of the Scotland national rugby union team. According to legend the "guardian thistle" has played its part in the defence of Scotland against a night attack by Norwegian Vikings, one of whom let out a yell of pain when he stepped barefoot on a thistle, alerting the Scottish defenders. The Latin Nemo me impune lacessit ("No-one provokes me with impunity!" in English) is the motto of Scotland's premier chivalric order, the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.[3]

"Flower of Scotland" has been used since 1990 as Scotland's unofficial national anthem. It was written by Roy Williamson of The Corries in 1967, and adopted by the SRU to replace "God Save the Queen".

Strip

Scotland have traditionally worn navy blue jerseys, white shorts and blue socks. On the occasion that Scotland is the home side and the opposing team normally wears dark colours, Scotland will use its change strip. Traditionally this is a white jersey with navy blue shorts and socks. During a sponsorship deal, purple was introduced to the traditional blue jersey. This was a significant departure from the traditional colours of blue and white, although purple is inspired from the thistle flower.

Results summary

Overall

Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 4 August 2025[4]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  England 97.56
2 Steady  Canada 89.77
3 Steady  New Zealand 88.74
4 Steady  France 85.92
5 Steady  Ireland 79.17
6 Increase2  Australia 76.31
7 Decrease2  Italy 76.06
8 Decrease2   75.33
9 Steady  Wales 72.18
10 Steady  United States 72.05
11 Steady  Japan 68.83
12 Steady  South Africa 68.04
13 Steady  Spain 63.31
14 Steady  Fiji 59.98
15 Steady  Samoa 59.72
16 Steady  Hong Kong 57.56
17 Steady  Netherlands 57.42
18 Steady  Russia 55.10
19 Steady  Kazakhstan 53.88
20 Steady  Kenya 50.68
*Change from the previous week
See also: List of Scotland women's national rugby union team matches

(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 19 June 2025

Rugby: Scotland internationals 1993–
Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Percentage
 Australia 1999 4 0 0 4 0.00%
 Belgium 2009 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Canada 1994 7 1 0 6 14.29%
 Colombia 2022 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 England 1994 34 2 0 32 5.88%
 Fiji 2024 1 1 0 0 100%
 France 1998 30 5 1 24 16.67%
 Ireland 1993 34 18 0 16 52.94%
 Italy 1988 25 9 1 15 36%
 Japan 2019 4 3 0 1 75%
 Kazakhstan 2006 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 Netherlands 1995 6 5 0 1 83.33%
 New Zealand 1994 4 0 0 4 0.00%
 Russia 1994 2 2 0 0 100.00%
 Samoa 2002 1 1 0 0 100.00%
 South Africa 2010 6 4 0 2 66.67%
 Spain 1997 24 16 0 8 66.67%
 Sweden 1994 9 9 0 0 100.00%
 United States 1998 7 2 0 5 28.57%
 Wales 1993 39 19 0 20 48.72%
Summary 1993 240 100 2 138 41.67%

World Cup

Rugby World Cup
Year Round Pld W D L PF PA
Wales 1991 Did not participate
Scotland 1994 5th place 5 3 0 2 72 42
Netherlands 1998 6th place 5 2 0 3 89 141
Spain 2002 6th place 4 2 0 2 41 53
Canada 2006 6th place 5 3 0 2 67 72
England 2010 8th place 5 1 0 4 57 132
France 2014 Did not qualify
Ireland 2017
New Zealand 2021 Pool stage 3 0 0 3 27 89
England 2025 Qualified
Australia 2029 TBD
United States 2033
Total 5th Place 27 11 0 16 353 529
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

Players

Current squad

Scotland named their final 32-player squad on 7 August for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.[5][6]

Note: The age and number of caps listed for each player is as of 22 August 2025, the first day of the tournament.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Elis Martin Hooker (1999-05-23)23 May 1999 (aged 26) 22 England Loughborough Lightning
Lana Skeldon Hooker (1993-10-18)18 October 1993 (aged 31) 81 England Bristol Bears
Molly Wright Hooker (1991-05-13)13 May 1991 (aged 34) 24 England Sale Sharks
Leah Bartlett Prop (1998-08-28)28 August 1998 (aged 26) 45 England Sale Sharks
Elliann Clarke Prop (2001-02-16)16 February 2001 (aged 24) 22 England Bristol Bears
Lisa Cockburn Prop (1992-12-06)6 December 1992 (aged 32) 34 England Gloucester-Hartpury / Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Molly Poolman Prop (2004-05-10)10 May 2004 (aged 21) 5 Scotland Edinburgh
Anne Young Prop (2000-03-17)17 March 2000 (aged 25) 21 England Loughborough Lightning
Sarah Bonar Second row (1994-02-09)9 February 1994 (aged 31) 47 England Harlequins
Becky Boyd Second row (2004-05-17)17 May 2004 (aged 21) 3 England Loughborough Lightning
Eva Donaldson Second row (2001-07-10)10 July 2001 (aged 24) 17 England Sale Sharks
Adelle Ferrie Second row (1997-10-14)14 October 1997 (aged 27) 6 Scotland Edinburgh
Emma Wassell Second row (1994-12-28)28 December 1994 (aged 30) 69 England Trailfinders
Evie Gallagher Back row (2000-08-22)22 August 2000 (aged 25) 37 England Bristol Bears
Jade Konkel Back row (1993-12-09)9 December 1993 (aged 31) 71 England Harlequins
Rachel Malcolm (c) Back row (1991-05-23)23 May 1991 (aged 34) 58 England Trailfinders
Rachel McLachlan Back row (1999-02-26)26 February 1999 (aged 26) 53 France Montpellier HR
Alex Stewart Back row (2004-05-28)28 May 2004 (aged 21) 13 Scotland Edinburgh
Leia Brebner-Holden Scrum-half (2002-05-26)26 May 2002 (aged 23) 11 England Loughborough Lightning
Rhea Clarke Scrum-half (2003-08-31)31 August 2003 (aged 21) 1 England Bristol Bears
Caity Mattinson Scrum-half (1996-05-17)17 May 1996 (aged 29) 33 England Trailfinders
Helen Nelson Fly-half (1994-05-24)24 May 1994 (aged 31) 71 England Loughborough Lightning
Hannah Ramsay Fly-half (2003-09-04)4 September 2003 (aged 21) 2 Scotland Edinburgh
Beth Blacklock Centre (1997-11-13)13 November 1997 (aged 27) 4 England Saracens
Emma Orr Centre (2003-04-06)6 April 2003 (aged 22) 30 England Bristol Bears
Lisa Thomson Centre (1997-09-07)7 September 1997 (aged 27) 71 England Trailfinders
Evie Wills Centre (2001-02-04)4 February 2001 (aged 24) 6 England Sale Sharks
Coreen Grant Wing (1998-01-30)30 January 1998 (aged 27) 17 England Harlequins
Rhona Lloyd Wing (1996-10-17)17 October 1996 (aged 28) 59 England Sale Sharks
Francesca McGhie Wing (2003-05-07)7 May 2003 (aged 22) 22 England Trailfinders
Chloe Rollie Fullback (1995-06-26)26 June 1995 (aged 30) 77 France Toulon Provence Méditerranée
Hannah Walker Fullback (2004-09-02)2 September 2004 (aged 20) 0 Scotland Edinburgh

Notable internationalists

Award winners

World Rugby Awards

The following Scotland players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[7]

Six Nations Awards

The following Scotland players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:[8][9][10][11][12]

Honours

See also

Women's international rugby – the most complete listing of women's international results since 1982

References

  1. ^ Bathgate, Stuart (14 February 2018). "Pioneers celebrate 25th anniversary of first Scotland women's international". The Offside Line. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ Harvey, Joe (19 March 2025). "Women's Six Nations 2025: All you need to know including results, fixtures and past winners". Rugby World. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  3. ^ "The Scottish Thistle – Beautifully Bold!". Scottish at Heart. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Scotland squad named for Women's Rugby World Cup 2025". Scottish Rugby Union. 7 August 2025. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Scotland names RWC 2025 squad". Rugby World Cup 2025 England. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  9. ^ "2022 TikTok Women's Six Nations Team of the Championship revealed". Six Nations Rugby. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Revealed: The Fans' 2024 Team of the Championship". Six Nations Rugby. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  11. ^ "The 2025 Guinness Women's Six Nations 'Team of The Championship'". Six Nations Rugby. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Vote for your 2025 Guinness Player of the Championship!". Six Nations Rugby. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
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