Scotland Women Ready For Italian Tussle

Scotland’s women are eager to take on their Italian counterparts on Sunday (kick-off 3pm) at Meggetland – their final game of the RBS 6 Nations Championship. Admission is FREE and the team would appreciate your support.  There have been 11 changes to the side that took on England last Sunday at Twickenham when they lost 0-89.  Three of the changes are in personnel and the remaining eight are positional. Among the changes in the pack Alison MacDonald will start at hooker, Jemma Forsyth at lock and Lindsay Wheeler switches to No 8 with captain Susie Brown earning her 50th cap as she moves to openside flanker. In the backline Stephanie Johnstone moves to the wing, Lisa Martin is starting at inside centre, with Laura Steven partnering at outside, putting Annabel Sergeant to the wing and Katy Green to full-back. Head coach, Karen Findlay said:  Last weekend at Twickenham was an extremely tough lesson and an introduction to the level at which the second best team in the women’s game competes.  Our players, who are at a totally different stage of development, were still playing and looking to try to make something happen in the last quarter of the match, an indication of the courage there is in this new young team.   “No one is sitting feeling sorry for themselves. There has been a lot of self-reflection and the only focus now, going into this weekend, is to come out of the blocks fighting. “We have made a few changes to the back line with Tanya Griffiths starting at stand off, with Laura Steven at 13, and Katy Green at 15, and a new back-row combination.  It will also be good to see what Alison Macdonald can do starting at 2.   “Our approach is based on ‘if we don’t try things out now we never will,’ so it would be cracking if people just get along to the game and get behind this team. They will be putting in everything they can to finish with a win on what will be a special day for our skipper, Susie Brown, who will lead the team out for her 50th cap.”      Scotland Women v Italy Women, Sunday 20 March at Meggetland (kick-off 3pm)15 Katy Green (Murrayfield Wanderers)14 Annabel Sergeant (Dundee University)13 Laura Steven (Murrayfield Wanderers)12 Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers)11 Stephanie Johnstone (Hillhead/Jordanhill) 10 Tanya Griffith (RHC Cougars)9 Louise Dalgleish (RHC Cougars)  1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead/Jordanhill)2 Alison MacDonald (RHC Cougars)3 Tracy Balmer (Worcester)4 Anna Swan (Edinburgh University)5 Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead/Jordanhill)6 Charlotte Veale (Wasps)7 Susannah Brown (Richmond)8 Lindsay Wheeler (Darlington Mowden Sharks) Substitutes16 Lindsay Smith (Hillhead/Jordanhill)17 Elizabeth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers)18 Suzanne McKerlie-Hex (Kirkcaldy)19 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers)20 Tess Forsberg (Richmond)21 Lauren Harris (Aberdeenshire Quines)22 Lisa Ritchie (Carlisle)