The Glasgow Warriors forward gained valuable game time during the Celtic Challenge which will prove useful at the inaugural competition, which runs from July 4-14 in Parma, Italy. The Women's Summer Series will feature all Six Nations teams and will include three competitive match days designed to offer a new opportunity for international rugby experience.
The 19-year-old Hyland, who mainly plays back row but is also currently learning to play hooker, is set to be named in the Scotland squad when it is announced next week.
And, all being well, the fixtures against Italy, France and Ireland will give her a chance to show a wider audience what she can do.
During the 2023/24 season she was part of the first ever Glasgow Warriors women’s squad that took part in the Celtic Challenge competition versus Edinburgh Rugby and Irish and Welsh sides.
“That was a great experience as a young player,” she said.
“I was part of the training squad throughout the whole tournament and then I was involved in the last few games which was great.
“Over that time I learnt so much from the senior players and the coaches around me and I just tried to take things on board and listen the whole time.
“For example, Scotland men’s cap Fraser Brown was helping with our defence and it was good to see how he goes about things.
“While the team didn‘t manage to pick up any wins, the team spirit and the culture at Warriors was amazing and it helped me grow as a player and as a person.
“Those kind of positive environments are the ones you want to be a part of as a player while the men’s professional squad at the Warriors could not have been more helpful and supportive too, so I’ll be cheering them on in the URC Grand Final this coming weekend.
“Just generally the Warriors experience left me wanting more and keen to kick on with my rugby which I'm hopeful l can do this summer.”
Hyland’s rugby journey began when she was young when a taster session at her primary school left her “hooked”.
“I just loved it and from that day my dad took me along to rugby sessions and the sport has pretty much been my life ever since,” the player said.
“I played from primary two to primary seven at the Mackie club and I was the only girl so I was just in the same team as the boys and got on with it!
“Then dad had to start driving me to Montrose to play once I had started senior school because there were no girls-only teams more locally at the time.
“From Montrose I went on to play under-16s and 18s with Dundee and since I have been playing senior rugby I have been with Garioch.
“The girls at Garioch have been so friendly the last couple of years and I love playing for the club in Inverurie. Sometimes we have tough results, but the fact we battled to stay in the Premiership in the season just gone shows how close-knit we are and it really is a good club to be a part of.”
Being from the north east of Scotland - she grew up in a town called Stonehaven - Hyland wants to inspire the next generation of female rugby talent from that region.
“I spend a lot of time just now driving to Edinburgh and other places for training and I often think to myself that I want what I am doing to show others from the same area of the country that I am from that it is possible to make your mark and push on with your rugby,” she said.
“There are a group of us who are in the Scottish Rugby pathway system that train at Aberdeen Sports Village and we are aged between around 16 and 19 or so along with my Garioch team mate Nikki Simpson [who has a development contract with Scottish Rugby] who is a bit older.
“Hopefully younger girls in the area can see what we are doing and be able to look up to us and see that it is possible and say ‘I want to do that one day’.”
