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BBC News
21-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'A bit of spice' – Scotland & Wales renew rivalry
Women's Six NationsScotland v WalesVenue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh Date: Saturday, 22 March Kick-off: 16:45 GMTCoverage: Watch on BBC Two & iPlayer, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app In a Women's Six Nations in which Scotland are out to prove they are the best of the rest – behind the traditional powerhouses of England and France – there is perhaps no better place to start than a showdown with two sides have history, a rivalry built up from numerous close-run encounters in recent times."Really exciting and dramatic for the viewer," Scotland centre Lisa Thomson says of their recent tussles with Wales."You couldn't ask for a better game to kick off the championship," says Scotland forwards coach Fraser Brown. "There's been a bit of spice in these games."Tests between Scotland and Wales over the past five years paint a picture of two very evenly matched the past seven meetings between the sides, Wales have won four, Scotland of those seven matches have been decided by a score or less – two by two points, one by three points, one by five and one by average score across those matches stands at 23-21 to Scotland, though take out the most recent meeting – a 40-14 Scottish victory in last summer's international friendly – and that flips to 19-17 in Wales' favour for championship matches versus Wales always seems to throw up drama. The Scots won in Cardiff in last year's Six Nations, but only after a last-gasp Welsh conversion slipped wide when it would have snatched the hosts a agony belonged to Scotland at the 2022 World Cup when Keira Bevan kicked an 84th-minute penalty to clinch an 18-15 Welsh victory in the tournament opener in Whangarei. 'An excellent opportunity to start well' The teams once again meet in their opening match of this year's World Cup in England, giving Saturday's Six Nations fixture even more significance."There's always niggle in Scotland and Wales games, no matter what sport, whether it's a male or female sport," said former Scotland hooker Brown."There's such close proximity both in geography but also where we are as a team."We have three home games - Wales, Italy and Ireland - three teams who are close to us in the world rankings, who are close to us in ability and who are also progressing and growing with professionalism growing tournament on tournament."It's really healthy for the sport but it's great for us because it means every single time we go into a competition we get to mark ourselves against teams that are right next to us, pushing in terms of professionalism and quality."Wales at home is an excellent opportunity for us to go out and start well."Saturday at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium is a chance to strike a psychological blow before that World Cup opener on 23 August in Salford, but the Scots are focused only on delivering a strong Six Nations showing that would inevitably provide a springboard towards the global tournament this summer."We've got a good run of games, a good order of games," said Thomson, who represented GB Sevens at the Paris Olympics last year."We've got Wales up first and then away to France. We pushed France close last year [in a 15-5 loss in Edinburgh], but we know that France are a different animal at home."As a group we've talked about just focusing on this tournament. We have Wales first up in the Six Nations, Wales first up in the World Cup, but we've done that before."We're just looking forward to a good game on Saturday again."
BBC News
09-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ruthless Ireland reinforce dominance over Scotland
Men's Six NationsScotland (5) 18Tries: Van der Merwe, White Cons: Kinghorn Pens: Kinghorn 2Ireland (17) 32Tries: Nash, Doris, Lowe, Conan Cons: Prendergast 3 Pens: Prendergast 2 Ireland kept their Six Nations Grand Slam hopes firmly on track with an 11th victory in a row over a disappointing Scotland at visitors blew away their hosts when speeding into a 17-0 lead with tries from Calvin Nash and captain Caelan Doris, both converted by Sam Prendergast, who also added a nightmare was made worse when Finn Russell and Darcy Graham collided early in the second quarter and both were removed from the contest, the wing being stretchered off after lengthy treatment on the van der Merwe's spectacular finish at the end of the opening half gave Scotland some respite, and hopes grew when Blair Kinghorn added two penalties early in the second were ruthless from there, though. They were utterly dominant. James Lowe and Jack Conan scored within seven minutes of each other approaching the excellent, and stress-free, Prendergast added another three-pointer before Ben White scored a consolation, which was no consolation at all to the overwhelmed Scots. One-way traffic as Irish start quickly Having lost 10 in a row against Ireland, the hosts needed the start of their dreams. What they got was the beginning of their aerial battle was always going to be important and Ireland dominated it. The collisions were always going to be key and Ireland won most of those, too. Scotland needed to build a lead and plant doubt in Irish heads, but they conceded first and only their defence and some good fortune stopped them from conceding again in quick the get-go, it was all Ireland. Waves and waves of green feeding off Scottish inaccuracy. Before Nash scored the visitors had been banging on the door for minutes. Scotland hung on until they could hang on no another penalty advantage, Prendergast whipped a long pass out to Nash, who had kept his width. In his splendid isolation, the Munster wing scored easily. Prendergast made it 7-0. So much for Scottish fire and lineout was a bit of a mess but it didn't matter. They were streets ahead for much of the day. Their breakdown was routing Scotland, who were pedestrian at best. Early in the second quarter, Ireland kicked on again with purpose. It followed Kinghorn, having a deeply unpleasant time, getting charged down and, when Robbie Henshaw hacked it downfield, there was a chase for the loose ball between Nash and Van der men collided and the ball went dead, but had the Scot deliberately played his opposite number? Was this a penalty try? No, said the officials. Nash wouldn't have touched down had there been no collision, but it was mightily der Merwe still got binned for taking Nash out of the action. Cue more Irish heat. They got held up over the Scottish line once and then twice. Some defensive resistance was all the Scots had, but even then they didn't have it for long.A difficult day became a nightmarish one early in the second quarter when Russell and Graham ran into each other in their desperation to halt Jamison Gibson Park and took themselves out of the failed an HIA and Graham was taken away on a stretcher. Two critical operators, gone. And then three more points for Prendergast to way traffic. And it carried on beyond the half hour when Ireland got just reward for all their pressure, Gibson-Park putting Doris over in the corner. Prendergast added the conversion - 17-0 Ireland. Sliver of optimism soon snatched away The visitors were winning with more ease than anybody had imagined. Hope arrived at the end of the half for Scotland when, having coughed up a lineout close to the Irish line, they went again, ran direct through Jack Dempsey and then found the holy grail of fast ruck ball and accurate hands. Huw Jones fed McDowall, who slipped it out the side door to Van der Merwe. His finish was was a further sliver of optimism early in the new half. A solid start brought a Scotland penalty. Kinghorn banged it over. A nine-point game a mountain to climb, but there was an edge to the Scots now that wasn't there before. Kinghorn launched an attack from deep and Ireland scrambled. Henshaw came within a whisker of being done for a deliberate knock-on, a yellow card and possibly a penalty try, but like Van der Merwe, he we came for penalty advantage and Kinghorn narrowed the gap to six from in front of the posts. Eleven unanswered points and expectations rising at were having none of Scotland's revival, though. In seven minutes leading up to the hour they struck out and settled the contest once and for all. It was Lowe who finished it after Scotland were dragged right and left. The wing stepped around Kinghorn who had come barrelling out of the line and went conversion made it 24-11 and soon after Gibson-Park took advantage of a woefully flat Scotland defence when dinking a kick over the top. With nobody in the backfield, Ireland didn't have a massively difficult job in putting Conan over for the bonus point was that Prendergast penalty and the White try to come, but they were academic. Ireland march on with serious intent while Scotland are shunted back into wearily familiar territory. Line-ups Scotland: 15-Kinghorn, 14-Graham, 13-Jones, 12-Jordan, 11-Van der Merwe; 10-Russell (co-capt), 9-White; 1-Sutherland, 2-Cherry, 3-Z. Fagerson, 4-J. Gray, 5-Gilchrist, 6-M Fagerson, 7-R Darge (co-capt), 16-Ashman, 17-Schoeman, 18-Hurd, 19-Skinner, 20-Brown, 21-Ritchie, 22-Dobie, 15-Keenan; 14-Nash, 13-Henshaw, 12-Aki, 11-Lowe; 10-Prendergast, 9-Gibson-Park; 1-Porter, 2-Kelleher, 3-Bealham, 4-Ryan, 5-Beirne; 6-O'Mahony, 7-Van der Flier, 8-Doris (capt).Replacements: 16-Sheehan, 17-Healy, 18-Clarkson, 19-Baird, 20-Conan, 21-Murray, 22-Crowley, 23-Ringrose.
