Helen hyped in 10th championship campaign

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MARCH 22: Scotland's Helen Nelson in action during a Guinness Women's Six Nations match between Scotland and Wales at The Hive Stadium, on March 22, 2025, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group) 3. "WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING INTO TROUBLE, IT’S GOOD TO HAVE A TEAM YOU CAN TRUST"

Only one player, Paula Chalmers, sits above her in the all-time list of points scorers, Nelson’s reliable boot complementing the calmness and creativity that punctuates her role as stand-off.

Casting her mind back to that 2016 debut, it was a collision rather than a place kick that told Helen she was ready for international rugby: “It definitely doesn’t feel like nine years ago,” she recalls. “I remember coming on and Lisa Martin, who was playing 10 at the time, said to me as we had a lineout ’12, crash’ and I caught the ball and ran straight into Safi N’Diaye, who was probably France’s biggest player, their No 8, and I got absolutely melted.

Young at heart: A young Helen on debut for Scotland, versus France in 2016 at Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld

“But I remember thinking ‘if you can survive that..’ – welcome to international rugby, you’re good to go. That’s the biggest hit you’re going to get and if you’ve survived it then let’s go.”

If that was a shuddering start to Scotland life, in a campaign when the side failed to register a victory, then 2017 was brighter, with home wins over Wales and Italy bringing optimism to Scottish ranks.

Interestingly, the same to sides were beaten, away from home, last year as Scotland went close to their highest Six Nations placing. Helen says that with success comes welcome pressure: “Last year was huge in the sense of those two wins also being away wins, I think 20 years against Wales and 25 years for Italy since we did that. I think if we can be beating those teams away, then the minimum standard is that we’re beating them at home.

“We’re getting to a place now where we’re not happy being the underdogs. We want to win with that expectation and putting that on ourselves is the next step and something we should want to achieve.

Now in the midst of this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations, Helen says that her game is in as good a place as ever: “I had a few months out, I picked up a calf tear in January, so I’ve been out longer than I had expected, but feeling good physically and prior to that, the season was going well with Loughborough and I felt like I was getting into my stride. I’m feeling confident and more and more I’ve grown into that 10 shirt. Game management and controlling the game is something that’s a big strength of mine now. I think we’ve learnt that as a team and personally, I’ve grown with that.”

To a tee: Helen landing a conversion in the recent win over Wales at Hive Stadium, a game in which she went second in Scotland Women’s all-time points list.

In that play-making role, which requires a lot of bold decisions, Helen reckons her natural aversion to the limelight means that relying on teammates to keep her on the right track is an important aspect of her game, adding: “I definitely wouldn’t say that’s me off the pitch at all! My teammates would say I’m one of the quitter ones, but I’m so confident in this group. We’ve come through the ranks together and I feel supported as vice-captain – there are so many natural leaders in the team; me and Thommo [Lisa Thomson] work closely together.

“If I’ve made a good or bad decision I know that everyone is going to stick by me and I think it’s so important to feel comfortable when you’re in that leadership role.”

A leader she is, and in the space of nine years Helen says players should take a moment every now and then to take in just how far the game has come in that time. “It’s probably something we don’t do enough,” she says. “Personally, and as a team, we don’t sit back and give ourselves a pat on the back because we’re never satisfied with where we are. But yeah, Broadwood, that first tournament was probably just mums and dads and family members in the crowd.

“There’s such a hype around women’s rugby now, it’s such an exciting time and I think we’ve got a really special thing going. Not just us, but at the Hive, we feel so supported by friends and family and all the young girls that come along. It’s such a cool environment to be a part of and it feels like there’s a genuine buzz.

“It’s incredible. Someone told me a story that they were down at their minis club and the girls were warming up, messing around before the session and saying ‘I’m Chloe Rollie!’ and the fact they’re saying that and have people to look up to, is so special.”

They’ll be pretending to be Helen as well, without doubt. And Rhona, and Fran, and many others. In a Rugby World Cup year, no less, now is the time for women’s rugby.

Role models: Helen (right) and Chloe Rollie (second right) are two of the Scotland Women stars that youngsters are looking up to