England v Scotland Women | Match Report

As the conditions improved, Scotland showed some attacking spark. Lisa Thomson and Chloe Rollie made strong carries but possession was short-lived, as England turned the ball over and regained control. After sustained pressure deep in Scotland’s 22, Marlie Packer crashed over from close range, with Aitchison again converting (14-0, 16 mins).

Scotland responded with determination, Emma Orr forced Ellie Kildunne into touch to halt another England attack. But a costly pass was intercepted by Zoe Aldcroft, who ran it in under the posts for England’s third. Aitchison kept up her perfect kicking record with the conversion (21-0, 20 mins).

Despite brave defending from Scotland – including a joint effort from Lloyd and Anne Young to hold England up over the line – the Red Roses struck again. A line-out move released McDonald to score in the corner, and Aitchison converted again (28-0, 27 mins).

From the restart, Evie Gallagher won a penalty and Scotland kicked to the corner, but England countered with another breakdown steal. Moments later, a superb tap tackle from Orr stopped McDonald just short, however England held advantage meaning the play was restarted close to Scotland’s try line. After relentless defence, Abbie Ward found a gap to power over. Aitchison converted once more (35–0, 34 mins).

As the half drew to a close, England looked to find another try through Abby down but excellent work from Fran McGhie and Caity Mattinson pressurised her into a knock-on over the try line. But following a line-out on Scotland’s five metre line, it was Lark Atkin-Davies who was able to squeeze over for the sixth try of the half. Aitchison slotted her sixth conversion to cap draw the first half to a close (42-0, 40 mins).

Half-time: England 42 – 0 Scotland

Lisa Thomson restarted the second half, and Scotland came out with intent and went well for the opening 10. But again, England struck through McDonald, who grabbed her second capitalising on a stretched Scotland defence. Aitchison converted to add the extras (49-0, 51 mins).

On the 53 minute mark Lucia Scott entered the fray – making her Six Nations debut – alongside Leah Bartlett and Elis Martin, replacing Fran McGhie, Anne Young and Lana Skeldon. Shortly Scotland was back on the attack with Emma Orr breaking down the left wing the left wing and soon after Scotland earned themselves a penalty. Nelson kicked to the corner, and after a determined maul which was stack with a number of the backs, the ball was grounded. After a review from TMO, it was confirmed that Lisa Thomson had dotted down. Helen Nelson, cool under pressure, slotted the extras (49-7, 58 mins).

A special moment followed when Rhea Clarke made her Scotland debut, joining sister Elliann on the pitch – the first time the Clarke sisters have shared the international stage.

Scotland’s defence continued to scrap, with Elliann Clarke producing a key steal and Emma Orr again disrupting play with her footwork and kicking game. Thomson’s tactical kicking pushed England deep into their half, and for a moment, Scotland looked in control. A promising multi-phase attack saw powerful carries from Orr and Lucia Scott, but a knock-on at the try line ended the opportunity.

With less than 10 minutes of the clock, further substitutions saw debut caps for Gemma Bell and Rachel Philipps, both adding fresh legs and grit to the final exchanges, replacing Nelson and Sarah Bonar

Philipps made an instant impression in defence, after chasing down Abby Dow, who was sprinting down the right wing. Despite a dominating tackle, with Dow now held, she was able to get back to her feet and score. Aitchison missed the conversion this time (54-7, 74 mins).

With the clock winding down, Scotland found themselves a player down, with Chloe Rollie was shown a yellow card for a deliberate and England quickly took advantage of the extra space with Dow scoring her second to close out the match. Aitchison missed her conversion but there was still time on the clock.

The game was finished as quickly as it was restarted, with England sending the ball into touch to wrap things up.

Scotland: 15. Chloe Rollie, 14. Rhona Lloyd, 13. Emma Orr, 12. Lisa Thomson, 11. Francesca McGhie, 10. Helen Nelson – captain, 9. Caity Mattinson, 1. Anne Young, 2. Lana Skeldon, 3. Elliann Clarke, 4. Becky Boyd, 5. Sarah Bonar, 6. Evie Gallagher, 7. Rachel McLachlan, 8. Jade Konkel

Replacements: 16. Elis Martin (on for Lana Skeldon, 53 mins), 17. Leah Bartlett (on for Anne Young, 53 mins), 18. Molly Poolman (on for Elliann Clarke, 63 mins), 19. Adelle Ferrie (on for Becky Boyd, 66 mins), 20. Gemma Bell (on for Sarah Bonar, 72 mins), 21. Rhea Clarke (on for Caity Mattinson, 60 mins), 22. Rachel Philipps (on for Helen Nelson, 72 mins), 23. Lucia Scott (on for Francesca McGhie, 53 mins)

England: 15. Ellie Kildunne, 14. Abby Dow, 13. Megan Jones, 12. Jade Shekells, 11. Claudia MacDonald, 10. Holly Aitchison, 9. Lucy Packer, 1. Kelsey Clifford, 2. Lark Atkin-Davies, 3. Sarah Bern, 4. Rosie Galligan, 5. Abbie Ward, 6. Zoe Aldcroft (captain), 7. Marlie Packer, 8. Maddie Feunati.

Replacements: 16. May Campbell, 17. Hannah Botterman, 18. Maud Muir, 19. Morwenna Talling, 20. Alex Matthews, 21. Natasha Hunt, 22. Helena Rowland, 23. Emily Scarratt.

Referee: Clara Munarini (FIR)
Assistant Referee 1: Maria Heitor (FPR)
Assistant Referee 2: Amber Stamp-Dunstan (WRU)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Attendance: 15, 530

Player of the Match: Claudia McDonald (England)