Women's Six Nations 2024: McMillan & Martin start for Scotland v France

  • Published
Media caption,

Women's Six Nations: Wales 18-20 Scotland - visitors hold on after late surge

Women's Six Nations: Scotland v France

Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh Date: Saturday, 30 March Kick-off: 14:15 GMT

Coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online; text commentary, highlights and report on BBC Sport website and app

Leicester hooker Elis Martin will make her first Scotland start when France visit Edinburgh in the Women's Six Nations on Saturday.

Louise McMillan earns her 50th cap as she returns to the starting line-up in the only other change.

The experienced Saracens second row replaced Sarah Bonar during last weekend's opening win in Wales.

"She's been a real stalwart within this group," said head coach Bryan Easson of McMillan.

"Person first, player second, she is a real role model. That is something that we go after a lot and she fits the bill perfectly."

Among the replacements, centre Nicole Flynn and lock Fiona McIntosh are in contention to make their debuts.

Having made six appearances as a substitute, Martin takes over from Lana Skeldon, who was injured in Cardiff along with Bonar.

Beth Blacklock, Francesca McGhie, Rachel McLachlan and Jade Konkel remain absent.

"We've been really clear about how important it is to build this squad," said Easson.

"Players make the matchday 23 because of the work they put in, because of their personalities, because of their diligence around how we play.

"Fi's only been in a short while but she's been a leader. And then Nicole, she's just got that exuberance of youth. She's come in and she's just got on with it."

France scored five tries in their 38-17 win over Ireland on the same day Scotland earned a 20-18 success in Wales.

"They are top three in the world for a reason," Easson said of the French.

"They've been consistent with their performances. They are really physical, but they're also chaotic.

"We've trained quite a bit of chaotic stuff this week, so that we know how to expect that. But we've also got to make sure that we don't get thrown into that as well.

"We want to stick to our processes, stick to our systems, trust the system."

Scotland: Meryl Smith, Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Coreen Grant, Helen Nelson, Caity Mattinson; Leah Bartlett, Elis Martin, Christine Belisle, Emma Wassell, Louise McMillan, Rachel Malcolm (capt), Alex Stewart, Evie Gallagher.

Replacements: Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Elliann Clarke, Fiona McIntosh, Eva Donaldson, Mairi McDonald, Nicole Flynn, Chloe Rollie.

Around the BBC

Related Internet Links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.