Celtic Challenge
The Celtic Challenge is a competition between Welsh, Irish and Scottish club teams, aiming to bridge the gap between amateur and international rugby, and essentially to help them catch up to the dominant Red Roses.
This year’s competition felt much more of an event than the previous year’s iteration, with extra teams (2 for each country), actual spectators and, at least in Scotland, links to the men’s professional teams.
| STANDINGS | W | D | L | BP | PTS |
| 1. Wolfhounds (Ire) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 32 |
| 2. Edinburgh Rugby (Sco) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 25 |
| 3. Gwalia Lightning (Wal) | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 4. Clovers (Ire) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| 5. Brython Thunder (Wal) | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| 6. Glasgow Warriors (Sco) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
As a Glasgow Warriors fan I’m of course disappointed with last place and just the one losing bonus point, clutched in the very last match. However, as a Scotland fan it was exciting to see new players get a flavour of international rugby and to grudgingly watch Edinburgh take the silver.
The level of play was certainly a step up from the Scottish Premiership, giving home-based players as well as some returning from injury or otherwise lacking game time a chance to play at a higher level before the Six Nations starts. I was thrilled to see Jenny Maxwell playing for the first time in far too long.
Glasgow looked disjointed, lacking cohesion as well as a strong kicker, but nonetheless will have benefitted from the game time against stronger opposition.
Edinburgh’s strength has been rewarded with several players in the Scotland squad, including teenage openside flanker Alex Stewart who will earn her first cap this Saturday ahead of Rachel McLachlan who returns from injury to the bench.
It remains to be seen if this tournament will catch the Celtic teams up to England, but it’s definitely a good addition to the rugby calendar, and exciting to see an Irish women’s team doing well. France and England have their own successful leagues, where almost all the full-time Scottish players ply their trades. Perhaps the Celtic Challenge will develop into a full league, possibly with Italian inclusion – allowing Scottish players to play at the highest level without moving country.
WXV
WXV had its inaugural season from October-November last year, comprising three levels of international teams and allowing nations to get additional game time against opponents they otherwise may only play at world cups.
It’s hard to see any northern hemisphere team taking over the sheer dominance of England, who dominated the top tier, WXV1. Their narrowest win, against world cup winners New Zealand, was hardly a close call (33-12).
France squeaked a 17-18 win over New Zealand, but lost their other two fixtures (v Australia and v Canada) 29-20. They only managed to come above Wales in the table – who were demolished 70-7 by the Black Ferns.
Despite Wales‘ lack of results (their sole point on the table came from a narrow 25-19 loss to Australia), they should be pleased with elements of their performance, and will benefit from facing the top tier opposition that Scotland haven’t come across for a year or two.
Scotland went as well as possible in WXV2, pulling together a lot of what they have been working on over the last couple of years to achieve the WXV2 trophy via bonus point wins over Japan, USA and South Africa. This confidence may prove important when they take on Wales this Saturday.
Italy came an agonising second place in WXV2, gaining bonus point wins over the same three teams as Scotland, but being edged out on points difference – Scotland had 55 to Italy’s 53! The closeness between Scotland and Italy at the top of WXV2, with Wales and France at the bottom of WXV1, bodes well for an exciting battle in the middle of the Six Nations table.
Ireland looked to be skipping to the WXV3 title, beating Colombia 64-3 and Kazakhstan 109-0. However, they almost fell at the final hurdle, edging a 15-13 win over Spain to take a trophy that must have felt underwhelming.
GB 7S
Three Scottish players have been in the GB 7s squad for the past couple of years, and are dual registered for Scotland 15s. All three women will hit out against Wales on Saturday, with Lisa Thomson at 12, Rhona Lloyd on the wing, and Shona Campbell providing cover on the bench. This year, the British team got their first medal on the circuit, but then capitulated in the next two tournaments and failing to make it out of the pool stages. Hopefully the Scotland team won’t mirror this after winning WXV2 and getting their first silverware for over two decades.
Six Nations 2023
Last year had the predictable result of an England Grand Slam, with France in second place. Wales came third, hence their inclusion in the top tier of WXV, with Scotland fourth, Italy fifth, and Ireland taking the dubious honour of the wooden spoon. It’s entirely plausible that the table looks identical this year, but I think the competition for silver and bronze will be even more hard-fought.
Some talking points:
- An interesting Scotland team sheet! Meryl Smith has seriously impressed over the last year or so, usually coming off the bench to play flyhalf or inside centre. I’m thrilled there’s enough competition in Scotland’s backs to have a player of Chloe Rollie’s calibre coming off the bench. It’ll be great to have Smith’s rugby vision on the game, and you have to assume she’ll take over the kicking tee, too.
- Abbie Ward returns to the England team after having a baby. How exciting is it that women can experience meaningful maternity support as professional rugby players?
- Fantasy rugby is back! The only advice I’ll give is to have as many England players each week as possible (I will of course have the full complement of Scotland players).
- The Red Roses have created separate social media accounts from the men’s team. Is this a positive move by the trailblazing team? Let me know your thoughts!
- England and France are already qualified for the 2025 Rugby World Cup (hosted in England), so the next highest finisher in this Six Nations will automatically qualify. Who will it be?
Skye Wilson 