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RWC 2025: Four takeaways from Scotland v Wales
By Finn Morton at Salford Community Stadium, Salford
Scotland have taken a big step towards the knockout rounds at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, beating rivals Wales 38-8 in a one-sided contest. Francesca McGhie impressed with a hat-trick, including the opener about 55 seconds into the Test.
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McGhie helped Scotland get off to an idyllic start at Salford Community Stadium, but Wales had a decent amount of possession in the 10 minutes that followed. Scotland stood tall in defence, but eventually something had to give.
Wales co-captain Alex Callender struck back with an effort off a set-piece in the 12th minute, but it was practically all the Scots from there in terms of points. Keira Bevan added three points off the kicking tee, but it was otherwise one-way traffic in the first 40.
McGhie completed a double midway through the half before Leia Brebner-Holden crossed for a try as well. With McGhie, Evie Gallagher and Emma Orr scoring tries during the second half, Scotland ended up running away with a dominant win to open their World Cup campaign.
Scotland’s backline will trouble Fiji and Canada
Scotland coach Bryan Easson named a highly-experienced side to take on Wales, including a starting backline which boasted 341 Test caps between them – an average of almost 49 appearances at this level per player.
Fly-half Helen Nelson, inside centre Lisa Thomson and fullback Chloe Rollie have all worn the Scottish jersey in more than 70 matches. Rhona Lloyd also reached the 60-Test mark against Wales, and the class that comes with that experience was on show on Saturday.
Nelson stood out as a key game-driver for the Scots, with the vice-captain kicking well around the park and stepping up as a playmaker. It seemed whenever Wales kicked the ball out of danger, Nelson was often back, eager to return serve.
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Francesca McGhie was among the standouts, with the winger crossing for a hat-trick, including the opener about 55 seconds into the contest. Scrum-half Leia Brebner-Holden also registered a try with an effort in the 30th minute.
Other than the tries, one moment that comes to mind was a superb break up the field, with Lloyd linking up with fullback Chloe Rollie to make this magic happen. Emma Orr was also involved, but Lloyd’s sheer pace and Rollie’s kick ahead were especially eye-catching.
Scotland have Fiji up next before taking on world number two Canada at Exeter’s Sandy Park on September 6. If Scotland’s backline clicks like they did against Wales, Canada will certainly have their work cut out for them.
Wales co-captains lead by example
Alex Callender was replaced just two minutes into Wales’ clash with Australia in Sydney earlier this month, having suffered a concerning ankle injury. Three weeks later, any doubts over Callender’s fitness had been put to rest, with the No. 8 named to start against the Scots.
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Coach Sean Lynn named Callender and Kate Williams as co-captains, with Williams packing down at openside flanker yet again. Those two led by example against Scotland, even if the result didn’t go Wales’ way in the end.
After conceding a try less than 60 seconds into the match, Wales gave it absolutely everything but Scotland’s defence stood tall time and time again – well, until Callender scored in the 12th minute which marked a memorable return to the Test arena.
With 30 minutes left to play, Callender was equal second for tackles completed along with six other players, who had all made eight stops. At the top of the list with a game-high 11 tackles was co-captain Williams, who was everywhere at Salford Community Stadium.
This result will go down as a disappointing loss for Wales, who now need to beat world number two Canada and Fiji to make the quarter-finals, but you can’t discredit the work of the team’s two co-captains – putting in a solid shift against a fierce rival at the Rugby World Cup.
Advantage Scotland in both defence and attack
After a match like this, it can be easy to focus on the try-scoring brilliance of Francesca McGhie and how impressive Scotland were during the first half in particular. But there’s more to this story, and it starts with a sporting cliché we’ve all heard countless times.
‘Defence wins championships,’ is a saying sports fans around the world have certainly heard at least once. While there was no championship or trophy on the line when Scotland faced Wales, the point stands that defence can be a difference-maker.
With 20 minutes left to play, Scotland held a hard-fought 16-point lead. McGhie had crossed for a hat-trick of tries, while Wales hadn’t scored a five-pointer until Alex Callender’s effort in the 12th minute of the Test.
Scotland had only missed five tackles up until that point, while successfully completing more than 80 stops. On the flip side, Wales’ tackle completion percentage had dropped below 90, missing 18 from 142 attempts.
Evie Gallagher scored with about 15 minutes left to play, which all but sealed this important win for the Scots in Manchester. Now that this Test is all said and done, it’s nigh on impossible to look past Scotland’s superior accuracy in both defence and attack.
What this means for Wales at the Women’s Rugby World Cup
This loss doesn’t have to define Wales’ Rugby World Cup campaign but it does make it a whole lot tougher to make the quarter-finals. Scotland are now in a strong position to make the knockout rounds, while world number two Canada will also back their chances.
Canada are widely favoured to go unbeaten through pool play, while Scotland now look like the most likely side to progress out of this pool. Even if Canada lose to the Scots in two weeks, they will move on if they get the better of Fiji and Wales.
In two relatively recent meetings between Wales and Canada, the women from the Great White North have won. Canada beat Wales 24-7 in 2021 and backed that up two years later on October 21 with a clinical 42-22 triumph at WXV 1.
Wales were well off the pace in the end against the Scots, and they’ll need to improve a fair bit to beat Canada, but never say never at a Rugby World Cup.
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