U18 Men and Women squads named for Six Nations Festivals

Scotland Women U18 are in action first, heading to Wellington College, England where they will play Italy on Thursday 2 April, England and Ireland in 35-minute matches on Monday 6 April and Wales on Friday 10 April.

Scotland Men U18 are in Vichy, France for their festival, playing Wales on Friday 3 April, Italy on Tuesday 7 April and Georgia on Saturday 11 April.

The annual festivals give our best young talent the opportunity to compete against the best players their age in Europe, with many involved in international fixtures for the first time.

Scotland Women U18 Head Coach Lindsey Smith said: “We’ve had quite a quick four-week build up to the festival. We had a hit-out against Wales which gave us some good information about where we are as a squad and what we need to work on heading into that first game against Italy on Thursday.

“We’ve got a good mix of experienced players, some who played Celtic Challenge this season and will lead from the front, and young, exciting players who have come through the inter-district regional matches and the new pro-alignment fixtures.

“So there has been good playing opportunities for this group leading into the Six Nations festival, and now we’re looking forward to seeing where we can play to our strengths and what the girls can do given the opportunity.”

Scotland Men U18 Head Coach Ross Miller said: “As coaches we’re really excited to see what this group can do over the next two weeks, and I know the players are really looking forward to the opportunity in front of them too.

“We’ve had a good preparation block over the last few weeks where we’ve had a fixture against Ireland U18 and training sessions with Scotland U19, and we’ve seen growth in the group already.

“I’m sure they will keep growing with three tough fixtures in the Six Nations Festival, which is excellent for their development. It’s always important to test yourself at the highest level, so these fixtures give the group the opportunity to see how they compare to some of the best players their age and also to compete in a challenging international test environment.”

Scotland Women U18 squad

Forwards

Rhianna Bodle
Lilly Clarkson
Jessica Combe
Gemma Gordon
Megan Hutchinson
Danielle Kaschula
Eleanor Keenan
Eve Mackay
Layla Mitchell
Ellen Nimmo
Juliet Ramsey
Eilidh Rose
Emily Sansom
Anna Stoddart
Pip Sutherland
Amy Vance
Estella Vaughan
Rebecca Whitehead

Backs

Robyn Allan
Katherine Bird
Sophie Gilvear
Megan Laurie
Bethan Mathieson
Neve Murray
Aoife Powrie-Smith
Lucy Ronald
Connie Sanderson
Lucy Symon
Niamh Waters
Emma Wyllie

Scotland Men U18 squad

Forwards

Angus Abel
Rory Baxter
Bradley Bohmer
Zak Burgess
James Dalrymple
William Geary
Hamish Mather
Jack Nesbitt
Oliver Richardson
James Roberts
Michael Scarth
Daniel Shellard
Archie Smellie
Rowan Welsh

Backs

Finlay Anderson
Lochlan Glackin
Rhuari Hill
Ruaridh Law
Samuela Lawaci
Ben McDonald
Olly McKenzie
Coel Pettet
Charlie Robbie
Angus Robson CAPTAIN
Alexander Sneddon
Murray Waugh