U18 Six Nations Festival 2025 | Scotland Women U18 Day Two

England 12 – 21 Scotland

Scotland Women U18 secured themselves well-earned and hard-fought first win of the festival over England, marked by grit, precision, and moments of defensive brilliance across the park.

From the get go, Scotland put England under immediate pressure, forcing early errors. A series of penalties in Scotland’s favour allowed Poppy Mellanby to deliver a superb kick from the opposition 22 into the corner, setting up a five-metre lineout. Hooker Ella Rae showed pinpoint precision, finding Scarlet Down in the air. With strong support from the pack, Down powered over the try line to open the scoring. Niamh Waters then stepped up to nail a challenging conversion from out wide, giving Scotland an early 0–7 lead.

England responded with a sustained attacking phase, but Scotland’s defence held firm thanks to heroic efforts from Lucy Giles, Estella Vaughn, Scarlett Haddow, and Thomson. Eventually, England broke through, with Grace Keel scoring and converting to level the match after 15 minutes (7-7).

Scotland looked to hit back quickly, but a promising attacking move was called back for a forward pass. Undeterred, Haddow collected a loose ball and weaved past five defenders before offloading to winger Bethan Mathieson, who pinned her ears back and dived under the posts for Scotland’s second try. Waters remained flawless with the boot, slotting the conversion to extend their lead (7-14).

England mounted another attack and managed to score in the corner after kicking to the wing and finishing well. The conversion attempt drifted wide, allowing Scotland to retain a narrow advantage (12-14).

Scotland suffered a setback when Ella Rae was shown a yellow card for a high tackle but despite being a player down, they continued to push forward. Mathieson and Lisa Brown were particularly effective, breaking through England’s defensive line with strong carries.

As the pressure mounted, England conceded a high tackle penalty. Mellanby once again found touch deep in the opposition 22. However, the resulting lineout wasn’t straight, giving England a scrum on their own five-metre line. Scotland’s dominance in the scrum caused them to push beyond the 1.5-metre limit allowed under U18 rules, handing the ball back to England.

In the closing stages, with the match hanging in the balance, Scotland’s defence stood strong once more. Imogen Spence produced crucial defensive work to force a knock-on, earning Scotland a scrum and one final attacking opportunity. They made it count, as Brown carried hard to across back into England’s 22 before Ailsa Merryweather dotted down under the sticks. Waters completed a perfect kicking performance, converting her third kick (12-21)

There were less than 90 seconds left on the clock from the restart, and Scotland were able to hold firm to secure the win.

Scotland 7 – 22 Ireland

Scotland Women U18 put in a gutsy and determined performance against a strong and undefeated Ireland side in their final U18 Six Nations Festival outing of day two, but fell short 7-22.