Scotland finish fourth in Home Nations U18 7s
9 Jul 2018
Scotland Women U18 7s were unable to capitalise on a strong opening day of the inaugural Home Nations U18 7s, finishing fourth overall in Edinburgh.
The home side started well on Saturday with a victory over Wales thanks to four tries from Katie McLaren, Evie Gallagher, Evie Wills and Ellie Clark.
They went on to beat England with Wills adding her second tournament score along with tries from Sarah Denholm and kicker Meryl Smith before closing the day with a loss against Ireland, who would go on to top the pool stage, with Denholm taking her total to two and Eva Donaldson also dotting down.
Scotland’s strong performances and second place pool finish set up a semi-final on day two against third-placed England.
Fortunes were reversed in the teams’ second meeting as England proved too powerful and secured a 34-0 win.
The result meant that Scotland would meet Wales, who lost to their Irish counterparts in the other semi, in the 3rdplace play-off before unbeaten Ireland took on England in the final.
Unfortunately, it was not to be Scotland’s day as more tries from Wills, Smith and Donaldson were not enough to overcome the Welsh and, after an encouraging opening to the tournament, they would finish fourth overall.
Ireland maintained their winning run with a 19-10 victory over England in the final to win the tournament.
Head Coach of Scotland Women U18 7s, Graeme Blackhall, said: “For many of the squad this was their first experience of playing at international intensity.
To claim a couple of victories is credit to the outstanding effort displayed by all the players from start to finish.
“I was delighted to see the girls express themselves and play with real energy.”
All four teams will compete again in a second leg of the Home Nations U18 7s in Birmingham on 21 and 22 July.
Scotland Women U18 7s try scorers
Emily Clark
Sarah Denholm (2)
Eva Donaldson (2)
Evie Gallagher
Katie McLaren
Meryl Smith (2)
Evie Wills (3)
Conversions: Meryl Smith (6)
Day One results
Scotland 28 – 5 Wales
Ireland 29 – 19 England
England 12 – 17 Scotland
Ireland 29 – 5 Wales
Scotland 10 – 47 Ireland
Wales 17 – 24 England
Day Two results
SF1: England 34 – 0 Scotland
SF2: Ireland 29 – 14 Wales
3rd place play-off: Scotland 17 – 22 Wales
Final: England 10 – 19 Ireland
