SCOTLAND Women Head Coach Bryan Easson has named his side to face Spain in tonight’s Autumn Test fixture at Hive Stadium, Edinburgh (kick-off 5.45pm) – live on scottishrugby.org. 

Borderers Lana Skeldon and Chloe Rollie both start but Lisa Thomson is on the bench. Biggar’s Emma Orr is also in the starting XV.

Easson has opted for consistency in his selection, with 13 of the starting line-up having played in Scotland’s last match of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations tournament against Ireland, when they sealed an emphatic 36-10 victory in front of a record home crowd at Hive Stadium, securing their first consecutive wins in the competition since 2006. 

Sarah Bonar returns to the fold to start in the second row, having missed the entirety of this year’s TikTok Women’s Six Nations competition due to injury.

Rhona Lloyd will make her comeback to the Scotland squad this weekend, having last played against New Zealand in the 2021 Rugby World Cup, with fellow GB 7s teammate Thomson also returning to international duties after being named among the replacements. 

Easson said: “It’s great to have the Spain fixture as when you go into any tournament it’s important you have an opportunity to pit yourself against different opposition with different playing styles.  

“We know that when we go to Cape Town for WXV, we will be playing against South Africa and USA in the first two weeks who are both physical sides, but we are also playing against Japan who play more open-style, faster rugby and Spain fall into some of those categories.

“In terms of the selection, we’ve looked at a few permutations and some players who are coming back from injury who need game time so there is a really good mix of experience and youth in the squad for this weekend.”

In the front-row, Skeldon will pack down alongside props Leah Bartlett and Christine Belisle, while locks Louise McMillan and Sarah Bonar complete the tight five. 

Captain Rachel Malcolm, Rachel McLachlan and Evie Gallagher will once again form the back row. 

Mairi McDonald and vice-captain Helen Nelson will pull the strings at scrum-half and stand-of respectively. 

Orr and Meryl Smith retain their midfield partnership from the TikTok Women’s Six Nations, with Francesca McGhie and Lloyd lining up on the wings and Rollie completing the back three at full-back.

Following Saturday’s match against Spain, Scotland will travel to Cape Town on Thursday (5 October) as they kick-start their WXV 2 campaign on Friday 13 October at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, with the side facing hosts South Africa (kick-off 4.30pm).

The tournament then heads to Cape Town with the Athlone Stadium hosting the second and third rounds of WXV 2, with Scotland going head-to-head against USA on Friday 20 October (kick-off 2pm) before concluding their campaign against Japan on Friday 27 October (kick-off 2pm).

Match tickets remain on sale, with great family-friendly prices starting at £16.50 (adults), £11.50 (students) £6.50 (U18s) and U12s only £1.50 with a paying adult (T&Cs apply). All prices are inclusive of booking fees. Don’t waste any time and support your Scotland team in their last home game of 2023, click HERE for tickets.

The match will also be streamed live on the Scottish Rugby website, YouTube and Facebook channels.