Scotland looking to scale new heights in Women's Six Nations
Rachel Malcolm is looking forward to the Six Nations with Scotland women
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With the Women's Six Nations rolling into town this weekend, the talk will most likely surround England and whether the best team in the world can continue their dominance of this competition.
The Red Roses have won 50 of their last 51 Tests and will be targeting a sixth successive title and a fourth straight Grand Slam.
John Mitchell's squad, led by Zoe Aldcroft, contains four uncapped players - Abi Burton, Charlotte Fray, Flo Robinson and Jade Shekells - but there is also vast experience within their ranks with the likes of Emily Scarratt, Marlie Packer and Natasha Hunt all included.
For Hunt and her fellow Gloucester-Hartpury clubmates, it will be back down to business this weekend when England take on Italy after the Cherry and Whites clinched a third consecutive Premiership Women's Rugby title against Saracens last Sunday.
Leading them to their latest crown was Sean Lynn, who will begin his new chapter with Wales in this Six Nations when they visit Scotland on Saturday.
Lynn has left a legacy at Gloucester-Hartpury and will want to translate his unrivalled success into his Welsh side but his first assignment will be against a Scotland outfit who are "pushing for new heights" according to captain Rachel Malcolm.
The Scots open up against old foes Wales at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, and 33-year-old back-row Malcolm will once again be leading from the front as she has done so well in recent years.
It was during this showpiece tournament two years ago that things really started to click for Scotland.
After a 55-0 away defeat to France, they had lost 12 games in a row in all competitions but they then finished the 2023 championships with home wins over Italy and Ireland.
That sparked WXV 2 success in South Africa later that year while in September 2024, they moved up to a record high of fifth in the world rankings.
They are now seventh in the rankings and, in total, the Scots have won 12 of their last 16 Tests.
Good progress being made then, but in this Rugby World Cup year, they want more. There is still frustration in the camp that they missed out on third place in last year's Six Nations after losing their final game against Ireland. They then lost the WXV 2 ‘final’ to Australia in October in Cape Town.
“I think as a squad we're in a really good place with that group of players that were at WXV 2 and I think the players that we've added into the mix are definitely lifting that again and challenging us and hopefully that can push us on to new heights in this tournament,” Malcolm, who recently announced she is leaving PWR outfit Loughborough Lightning, told TRU.
“I don't think WXV 2 was a bad outcome for us or a bad performance, but I don't think it was our best. I think there have been times where we've maybe clicked slightly better and had probably slightly better conversion rates, which has allowed us to pull away from teams.
“Yes, we got the two wins against Italy and Japan but were they as convincing as they potentially could be? Probably not.
“And then obviously we struggled against Australia and I think on a different day with a different performance, I think we would have pushed them more and we would have won that game.
“So, there's definitely areas of the game that we've been focusing on getting better at going into this Six Nations. I think our conversion rates are going to have to be higher and our set piece is going to have to be more accurate. They are probably two of the key ones.”
‘I absolutely love it’ – Malcolm on the Scotland-Wales rivalry
Clashes between Scotland and Wales are always keenly fought and last year, Scotland won by just two points in Cardiff.
They are set to meet in pool play later in the year at the Rugby World Cup in England while, ahead of the weekend, Wales are also set to begin a new era under Sean Lynn.
“I love it, absolutely love it and I think if you asked anyone in the group they would probably agree with me on that as well,” Malcolm said about the rivalry with Wales.
“We have a lot of history there, we play them an awful lot, we both know a fair amount about each other and I think both sides love it.
“It adds an extra bit of energy to the game and the preparations and ultimately with them, this time, we don't know what we're going to see.
“They've got a brand new coaching team. They will likely have a new energy about them and probably a slightly different style of play so that's something that we need to be mentally prepared for, but also we need to make sure that we stay true to ourselves and focus on ourselves and what we do well.
“I think we need to make sure that as much as we focus on that whole rivalry and that history, we need to make sure we focus on ourselves and getting our performance right first and foremost.
“It's such an important year. It's a new and evolving group and we need to make sure that we set a standard this week and we keep pushing it on from week to week.”
‘Three home wins is definitely what we're targeting’
After the Wales game in the Six Nations, Scotland go to France on March 29, host Italy on April 13, are in England on April 19 and welcome Ireland to Edinburgh on April 26.
The Scots have finished fourth in the last two tournaments and have not finished as high as third since way back in 2005.
England and France will once again be overwhelming favourites to claim the top two spots this year, but Malcolm believes finishing above Wales, Italy and Ireland would be a big step forward leading into the World Cup.
“We’ve got three home games which I think is a massive opportunity for us and three home wins is definitely what we're targeting,” she stated.
“I think that gap between England and France [and the other nations in the tournament] is closing and we want to make sure we keep pushing.
“So, although the three home games are targets I think those away games against two of the best teams in the world are something that we will thrive on because there are opportunities there for us to go and really test ourselves.
“Last year, we pushed France right to the wire [losing 15-5], granted that was on our home turf and we're away at La Rochelle this time around and it will be a really tough game, but I think where we're at right now is that we want to go out there and we want to do our best to perform in every single game.
“And then obviously England. Leicester Tigers’ ground is going to be bouncing for that one from what I hear in terms of ticket sales so, again, it is an opportunity to go and test ourselves against the best team in the world and see where we stand.
“We are all focused and excited ahead of the tournament.”
