‘It left me wanting more’: Holland Bogan hungry for more after promising Scotland start

After a frustrating Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign you get the feeling that Scotland are determined to play some bold and exciting rugby during the WXV Global Series.

And bold and exciting are two words that could be used to describe one of the squad’s up-and-coming talents in the shape of second row and back-row forward Holland Bogan.

She may just be 21, but the player who has come through the ranks at Cartha Queens Park, Stirling County and Glasgow Warriors is not shy in coming forward and has already become one of the real characters off the pitch within the international set-up in recent months.

That boldness has been replicated on the pitch in her five Scotland caps so far too with the former age-grade cap having not been afraid to mix it with more established opponents during the Women’s Six Nations and there is a real excitement north of the border regarding where her career might go from here.

Ever since she recovered from a PCL and MCL knee injury that put her out between February 2025 and September that year, Bogan’s rugby journey has been on a constant upwards curve.

She helped Stirling County win the Arnold Clark Premiership title in December, she co-captained Glasgow in the Celtic Challenge with current Scotland squad mate Ceitidh Ainsworth and then she became national team cap number 250 when she came off the bench in the 24-19 Round 1 Women’s Six Nations win over Wales in Cardiff in April.

“Winning my first cap in a place like the Principality Stadium was amazing,” the forward said.

“There is so much history around that ground and the whole day was awesome, but when I was told I was going on as one of our first subs [in the 56th minute to replace Hollie Cunningham] I didn’t expect it.

“When I got on, I was immediately into a lineout and I was thinking of everything, every single call that we had worked on during the week.

“It was a lot to take in, but then you just get into it, forget that it’s such a big moment and just focus in on the rugby.

“To get the win down there with the team is a moment I’ll never forget and it just left me wanting more.

“Last year there was a few tough days with my knee injury, but the motivation to get back fit and one day earn a full cap kept me going and the physios and S&C coaches I worked with from Scottish Rugby kept pushing me.

“And all of that hard rehab work was worth it for that day in Cardiff and then being involved during the rest of the Six Nations campaign and playing at other amazing venues like Murrayfield and the Aviva [Stadium, in Dublin].”

In total Bogan came off the bench four times and started once – against France at Hive Stadium – as the Scots finished fifth during the tournament that took place across April and May.

Since then she has been awarded a full-time Scottish Rugby contract for 2026/27, having also been supported in 2025/26 and is keen to go from strength-to-strength with five Tests coming up in the next two months starting at home against Canada at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday 12 September.

With 51-cap second-row Sarah Bonar back fit and captain Rachel Malcolm set to be wearing the number six jersey, there is stiff competition to get into the match day 23 for that one, but Bogan is feeling good heading into this block of action.

“I think I’ve just grown as a person and a player so much since I joined the Scotland squad properly earlier this year,” Bogan, who was born in Scotland and spent a year of her early life in Florida and then 10 years in Amsterdam, stated.

“When I suffered my knee injury and my progress was stopped for a bit, I was down in the dumps, but since then everything has been positive.

“Before I came into the Scotland squad, everyone talked about this being such a really special group.

“And I totally get it now, everyone makes you feel so welcome right from the start and once you’re in the squad you just want to stay in it forever.

“Camp in recent weeks getting ready for WXV has been great.

“Dave [Butcher, Scotland’s interim head coach] has been clear on what he wants and it’s great to have Robbie [Fergusson] in with us as he is going to be our Glasgow coach going forward too.

“Along with Robbie as assistants, Chris Laidlaw is back who I worked with when I was in the Under-20s and TL [Tom Luke from Bristol Bears] has been great.

“There are really good vibes going around, everyone is on the same wavelength and we all have the same goals.”

Bogan was speaking as she and eight squad mates – Evie Gallagher, Anne Young, Elis Martin, Alex Stewart, Hollie Cunningham, Rachel Philipps, Demi Swann and Aicha Sutcliffe – headed out into the community to deliver coaching sessions with enthusiastic young girls at Balfron High School and at Lenzie rugby club.

“Seeing the amount of girls that were at both places was amazing,” Bogan, who played football in her youth at Eastwood High School in Glasgow, concluded.

“When I was that age, I definitely didn’t see or know that many girls playing rugby.

“Seeing that kind of growth in girls’ rugby in the last few years is just brilliant. They were all buzzing to see us and we were buzzing to see them so it was a great day for everyone with a lot of smiles.”