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Dalgliesh proud of players' development despite three defeats

Dalgliesh proud of players' development despite three defeats

Having lost their opening two fixtures to England and Wales, Scotland fell to a 62-7 defeat at the hands of Ireland in their final game in Caerphilly.
The Scots fought valiantly throughout and showed brief moments of promise against Ireland, with Freya MacColl's converted try their high point of the match.
The results from the final day of #U6NSummerSeries action 🤩 pic.twitter.com/rEoKWZm12y — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 17, 2025
But Dalgliesh, who thought her team played will in patches, admitted the scoreline was in part due to the way she'd instructed her team to approach proceedings.
She said: 'I didn't set the team up well enough in terms of attack. I've got to take responsibility for that element. During the first half, when we did get out of our own half, we showed a little bit of promise when we found space.'
Despite the results on the pitch over the last two weeks not going Scotland's way, Dalgliesh remained positive and took heart from how far her team had come since they joined up.
'We came together as a group about 12 weeks ago,' she continued. 'We've not had consistent contact time, but it's been good to see the connections that have formed in that time and the development in individual players. I think individually, if I look at every player who's been involved, I can see progression in them.
'I can see development and I can see areas that they've really worked hard to improve. They've got to be proud of themselves for that and ultimately, I'm proud of them for that as well.'
Dalgliesh explained the defeats during the Women's Summer Series had been painful but was full of praise for the opportunity to play three matches against tough opposition, which she said will ultimately benefit her squad.
She added: 'Having competitive opportunities is massive. We know that our players are not always exposed to that. The Summer Series is a real important step in our pathway to allow us to prepare players to go on and play for the national team.
'Ultimately as much as some of the results and parts of the performances will hurt us from this summer, we will also learn a huge amount as a group.'
Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at sixnationsrugby.com/u6n and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
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