New faces but old rivalries as Wales host Scotland

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Here we go again... Wales against Scotland in a tournament opener. It has become a regular occurrence.

This is third year in a row these Celtic rivals have faced off in the first game, sandwiched by the opening match of the past two World Cups.

The results of those games have gone a long way to shaping the rest of their campaigns.

So what could be in store for Saturday's showdown at Cardiff's Principality Stadium?

There are a lot of unknowns.

Scotland are under new management with Australian Sione Fukofuka taking over from Bryan Easson, while Wales head coach Sean Lynn has brought in an all-new backroom staff for his second year in charge.

A host of fresh faces are also in the squads at the start of a new World Cup cycle.

But amid all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure, there will be no shortage of rivalry as both sides aim to get their campaigns off to a winning start.

Team news

Lynn has thrown two uncapped players straight into Wales' starting team, making his selections based on form and game time.

Lock Jorja Aiono and wing Seren Singleton have impressed for Brython Thunder and are among 10 players who have appeared in the Celtic Challenge named in the line-up.

Kate Williams leads the side with Alex Callender ruled out of the tournament through injury, while former captain Hannah Dallavalle is set to win her 70th cap from a bench that shows a six-two forwards-backs split.

There is no place in the matchday squad for international regulars such as Carys Phillips and Jasmine Joyce.

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Fukofuka is also in the mood for handing out debuts. Back row Emily Coubrough starts while prop Demi Swann, lock Holland Bogan and scrum-half Rianna Darroch are poised for first caps from the bench.

Prop Leah Bartlett makes her 50th appearance, while lock Hollie Cunningham returns after missing the World Cup through injury.

There is also a first appearance for wing Shona Campbell since 2022.

Rachel Malcolm captains the side which is without key players such as Anne Young, Sarah Bonar, Evie Gallagher, Lisa Thomson and Fran McGhie, who scored a hat-trick against Wales at the World Cup, all missing through injury.

Views from the camps

Lynn is looking for his first Six Nations win after Wales finished with the wooden spoon for a second successive season last year.

They also bowed out of the World Cup in the group stage, having failed to pick up a win for the first time in their history.

But the former Gloucester-Hartpury boss says "confidence is very high" in camp.

"I think you'll see small gains, small margins, the dial being moved in everything that we're looking at, especially set piece where we want to be dominant," Lynn said.

"The connections we've been making in the last two weeks has been a big bonus, but they need to happen on the pitch as well.

"They're [Scotland] a very good outfit with some strong leaders... the 10-12-13 combination is powerful and we've got to manage that.

"But this is the nature of the Six Nations, these are the games you want to be playing in."

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After making the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Malcolm admits her side may need time to adjust to new management, with their defence coach Tyrone Holmes moving to Wales and former Wales boss Ioan Cunningham joining Scotland.

"From a realistic perspective, I don't think it's going to be perfect. I don't know where we're going to be," she said.

"I'm very confident in the work we've done, but it is a new cycle. We've had two weeks as a group.

"It's exciting because we're going to see where we're at. Until you're put in that Test match arena, you don't know. There might be a step back in some areas, but hopefully a step forward in more.

"We are at the start of a new cycle, but by the end of this cycle we don't want to be seen as an underdog.

"We want to be a team that other teams see as a threat and to do that we need to string together consistent performances."

Commentator's notes

BBC Radio Wales commentator Gareth Rhys Owen said: "If you look back at 2025, it firmly belonged to Scotland - Six Nations success and a comfortable Rugby World Cup win over Wales.

"With hindsight, it seems remarkable that Sean Lynn was coaching Gloucester-Hartpury one day and preparing Wales the next. This time, he has had a full run at the campaign and his own coaching team in place.

"Scotland, though successful, are also starting anew under Sione Fukofuka, with former Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham involved, and have spoken about shifting from underdogs to a side to be feared. The expectation now sits with them — Wales need a result."

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Match stats

Head-to-head

• Wales have won 15 of the 23 matches played against Scotland, but have not beaten Scotland in the past two Six Nations meetings

• Five of the past seven Six Nations encounters have been decided by three points or fewer

• Scotland hammered Wales 38-8 at the 2025 Rugby World Cup, a record winning margin between the two sides

• Scotland are currently sixth in the world rankings, while Wales are 12th

Last year's Six Nations

• Wales won the most scrums with 43 successes from 55 attempts

• Wales' Georgia Evans and Scotland's Rachel McLachlan were tied for the top tacklers, both making 86 successful tackles

• Francesca McGhie led the competition with 24 defenders beaten and was joint first with nine initial breaks

• Carys Cox made 471 carrying metres (2nd) and nine initial breaks (joint 1st)

Line-ups

Wales: Powell; Singleton, Cox, Keight, Neumann; George; Bevan, G Pyrs, Jones, Tuipulotu, Aiono, Crabb, Lewis, Williams (capt), King.

Replacements: Reardon, Davies, Rose, A Pyrs, Evans, Metcalfe, Lockwood, Dallavalle.

Scotland: Rollie, Lloyd, Orr, Smith, Campbell, Nelson, Brebner-Holden; Bartlett, Skeldon, Clarke, Wassell, Cunningham, Malcolm, Stewart, Coubrough.

Replacements: Martin, Swann, Poolman, Bogan, Donaldson, Darroch, Wills, Scott.

Officials

Referee: Ella Goldsmith (RA)

Assistants: Precious Pazani (ZRU), Alexandra Ferre (FFR)

TMO: Graham Cooper (RA)

FPRO: Paulo Duarte (FPR)

Related topics

• Welsh Rugby
• Rugby Union