2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series preview: Scotland v Ireland

Expect sparks to fly as Scotland take on Ireland in the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series.

The rivals kickstart Round 3 with the first game of the day at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly and both sides are itching to bounce back from defeats in Round 2.

Last time out saw Ireland go down 41-12 to France, with Scotland losing 52-29 to Wales but both sides now have the chance to end their campaigns on a high.

You can catch all the action live on YouTube right here.

TEAM NEWS

Scotland head coach Louise Dalgliesh has made ten changes to the matchday 23, with Poppy Fletcher named captain and Emily Norval vice-captain.

Props Fletcher and Eilidh Fleming join Megan Hyland at hooker, with Aisha Zameer partnering Gemma Thomson in the second row.

In the backrow are blindside flanker Merryn Gunderson, Lily Crisp at openside and Emily Coubrough the number eight.

Emily Love and Ceitidh Ainsworth are the half backs, while the midfield remains Lucy MacRae and Nicole Flynn.

Freya MacColl, who scored two tries against Wales last week, starts on the wing, joining Norval and full-back Poppy Mellanby.

Ireland Head Coach Niamh Briggs has made the same number of changes to her side, with Grainne Burke, Maebh Clenaghan and Lily Morris in the front row.

Beibhinn Gleeson and Alma Atagamen make up the second row, while Rosie Searle comes in behind them with Jane Neill and Jemima Adams Verling.

May Goulding and Ellie O'Sullivan Sexton are the half backs, with Luicia Linn and Clare Dunne in the centres.

Emily Foley and Katie Corrigan take up the wing spots and Lyndsey Clarke starts at full back.

Player to watch - Freya MacColl

The Scotland wing scored twice and assisted Poppy Mellanby against Wales last weekend after coming off the bench and has been rewarded with a first start of the Series.

What they said

Scotland head coach Louise Dalgliesh said: “We had a really positive start against Wales to start the scores with a penalty early on but from there Wales got four tries from our possession, so we were really disappointed with that but ultimately it came from our own errors.

“I think when you take that first 20 minutes away, we actually outscored them 26-24, so we have shown how competitive we can be when we get the detail right, but we gave ourselves far too big a task to do after that.

“There’s a lot of lessons we are taking away from that in terms of mindset and mentality, and that is what we are taking into this final game against Ireland. I think overall we can be pleased with what we have done in this competition so far, we have shown some fantastic attacking rugby and had glimpses of the physicality we bring in defence.

“Now we’re looking to string all of that together for an 80-minute performance, and ultimately that’s what it will take to get the result we are looking for on Thursday.”

Team News

Scotland: 15. Poppy Mellanby, 14. Emily Norval, 13. Nicole Flynn, 12. Lucy MacRae, 11. Freya MacColl, 10. Ceitidh Ainsworth, 9. Emily Love; 1. Poppy Fletcher, 2. Megan Hyland, 3. Eilidh Fleming, 4. Aisha Zameer 5. Gemma Thomson, 6. Merryn Gunderson, 7. Lily Crisp, 8. Emily Coubrough

Replacements: 16. Karis Craig, 17. Louise Taperell, 18. Megan Riach, 19. Holly Wilson, 20. Sophie Price, 21. Rebekah Douglas, 22. Holly McIntyre, 23. Lisa Brown

Ireland: 15. Lyndsey Clarke Ennis, 14. Katie Corrigan, 13. Clara Dunne, 12. Lucia Linn, 11. Emily Foley, 10. Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton, 9. May Goulding; 1. Grainne Burke , 2. Maebh Clenaghan, 3. Lily Morris, 4. Alma Atagamen, 5. Beibhinn Gleesonn, 6. Rosie Searle, 7. Jane Neill, 8. Jemima Adams Verling

Replacements: 16. Saoirse Crowe, 17. Ella Burns, 18. Sophie Barrett, 19. Aoibhe O’Flynn, 20. Sally Kelly Ennis, 21. Caitriona Finn, 22. Tara O’Neill, 23. Robyn O’Connor

Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women’s Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at sixnationsrugby.com/u6n and on Instagram @u20sixnations.