Scotland’s young guns breathe new life into the team as they enter the professional era
At the beginning of the Six Nations Championship, Scotland were staring down the barrel of a daunting campaign.
A squad hampered by injury and restricted due to Great Britain sevens call-ups needed more than a catalyst to rejuvenate a side which had made losing a habit.
Scotland emerged from the first four rounds of the tournament battered and bruised but crucially, they bagged themselves a win. They now have the opportunity to pick up a second as they go into this weekend’s finale in Ireland as favourites.
Scotland have not won two games in a Six Nations since 2017 and you have to go back to 2006 for the last time they won two matches back to back.
For this generation of Scottish players, the 2023 Six Nations has felt something of a renaissance. Social media has been rife with highlights of Coreen Grant and Fran McGhie leaving defenders in their wake and the two of them have only nine caps between them.
19-year-old winger McGhie has been averaging 10 metres per carry this year, finding herself in the esteemed company of England’s Jess Breach and Italy’s Alyssa D’Inca, particularly when it’s remembered she was injured early when the team travelled to France.
The early impact of professional contracts extends far beyond Scotland’s back line. Rachel McLachlan, now considered one of the experienced forwards, despite being 24 has welcomed fresh talent to the Scotland camp despite the added competition it creates for places.
“The vibe has been really good,” said McLachlan. “Some of the young players coming in, especially for example Elis Martin has brought such a good energy to the group and Eva [Donaldson] has taken a massive step up and it is really good to see, she is performing the same as Anne [Young], Elliann [Clarke], I could name them all.
“In the back-row, we have a great mix and personally things like Evie [Gallagher] she is an incredible jackler, so that is something that I watch her do and I try to emulate that, learn from that and speak to her about the technique.”
Gallagher, who plays her club rugby at Worcester Warriors, has been a key component of Scotland’s scrum which held its own at times against the goliaths of England and France.
The number eight, who played openside flanker against France, has been one of the most dominant defenders throughout the tournament, making 69 tackles with a 93% completion rate. This is second only to Ireland’s Neve Jones who’s stopped 74 attackers and has proved herself a brick wall, completing 99% of tackles.
Gallagher is also her country’s most reliable player with ball in hand, making 45 carries in four games.
With Jade Konkel-Roberts, Lisa Thomson and others returning to the Scotland ranks, they now have something often sparse in this national team, choices at positions across the pitch.
“All of our youngsters have all stepped up,” reflected Konkel-Roberts, who won her 58th cap last weekend.
“Eva Donaldson this season from last is night and day and she has stepped up. She has done everything that has been asked of her, she has worked really hard, she has done the extras and I think that was really evident when she came on the pitch against Italy.
“She did her job, she did her job really well and then people like Evie Gallagher, you have just got so much trust in these youngsters coming up because they put in the hard work,” Konkel-Roberts added.
Mclachlan emphasised this fundamental change in camp: “It is really cool to have that depth there, we are all fighting for positions and it is just so promising to see so many people fighting for positions and there are even younger ones coming through.
“We have a lot of back-rows and a lot of back-rows who have been here a long time, so it makes it difficult, but that drives us to make each other better.”
Jade Konkel-Roberts expects toughest test of Six Nations campaign to come against Ireland
