Women’s Under-21s Tri-Nations Review

Scotland Women Under-21's playing in L'Aquila, Italy, at the Tri-Nations Series.

The trip to L’Aquila, led by Head Coach and Scottish Rugby’s National Academy Manager Claire Cruikshank, included training games against Italy and Wales, where Scotland found success against the latter.

After heading to central Italy earlier last week, the squad and staff got underway with training and preparations for the double-header which took place on Saturday, with the key focus being aimed at player development and progression.

Italy were the first opponents for the weekend, with the hosts winning 38-0. Scotland then defeated Wales 17-14, with the squad rotated across the two games.

Bethan Mathieson, Niamh Waters, and Tamzin Rosie all scored throughout the 40-minute affair, with Lucy MacRae converting Mathieson’s try.

Looking back at the week and matches, Cruikshank explained her happiness with the overall outcome, saying: “The camp and trip to Italy were great overall and really valuable to all players and staff involved. In our first game, we lost to Italy but then immediately played Wales and won in a positive manner.

“Our intentions were clear from the start that we wanted to use the games to expose our players to international opposition, find out more about them in an international environment early in the season and maximise everyone’s game time, which we succeeded in doing.

“It was great to spend a week together to build relationships and start to see the progression and development that can be achieved with this group.”

Scotland Women’s Under-21s Tri-Nations results:

Italy 38-0 Scotland
Wales 14-17 Scotland