The hosts’ seven-match winning streak was brought to an end by France in Round 2 but Bryan Easson’s side gave Les Bleues plenty to think about in the 15-5 defeat, in which they led at half time.
England arrive on a 26-match Guinness Women’s Six Nations run of victories, while they hold the sign over Scotland in recent times – winning all 25 of the two rivals’ most recent meetings.
The Red Roses have kicked off their 2024 Championship with triumphs over Italy and Wales but know a sterner Scotland test than they may have faced previously awaits in Edinburgh.
TEAM NEWS
Experienced pair Chloe Rollie and Lana Skeldon have been brought into Scotland’s starting XV as two of three changes to the side which lost out to France.
Rollie comes in at full-back with Skeldon replacing Elis Martin, who crossed against France, at hooker. Skeldon’s Bristol Bears teammate Meryl Smith also earns a start, with Lisa Thomson dropping to the bench as Easson shuffles his midfield.
Lock Fi McIntosh is set for an international debut from the bench and Francesca McGhie could make her first appearance of the Championship having also been named among the replacements.
The visitors also make a change in the No.2 jersey, with Amy Cokayne back in the Red Roses fold after an absence of 12 months.
England’s other change sees Abbie Ward brought into the starting line-up in place of Marlie Packer, with Zoe Aldcroft moving to blindside flanker and taking on the captaincy.
WHAT THEY SAID
Scotland head coach Bryan Easson said: “This is a really important block of three games for us.
“We are not benchmarking ourselves against the top two or three in the world as yet but we saw from last week against France that our performances are moving forward. We want to do the same again.
“If we put in a performance like we did against France, that is us moving in the right direction. We have been pleased with aspects of our performance and we have to keep doing that. We are building crowds through our performances and we want to show those fans what we are made of.”
England head coach John Mitchell said: "The fallow week presented a moment to reflect on the opening rounds and grow the elements of our game.
"Our learnings all build towards evolving our performance. We are looking forward to building on this and taking another step forward together against Scotland this weekend."
KEY BATTLE – Chloe Rollie v Ellie Kildunne
Ellie Kildunne has started the 2024 Championship on fire, with doubles in each of England’s opening matches already taking her two clear in the leading try scorer standings.
She has gained comfortably more metres (245.2m) than any other player with ball in hand and will relish the prospect of adding to both those tallies this weekend.
Standing in her way will be Chloe Rollie, who has a point to prove as she comes in for her first start of the campaign.
Rollie scored a superb try against the Red Roses last year – albeit a consolation in a heavy defeat – and will hope to make a similar impact this time around.
STAT ATTACK
England have won each of their last 25 Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches against Scotland by an average margin of 46 points and have scored an average of 60 points per game across their last five encounters, while conceding a total of just 22 in return.
Scotland have won three of their last four Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches (L1), as many wins as in their previous 26 games in the Championship combined (D1 L22) – they have conceded fewer than 20 points in each of their last three Championship games after conceding over 20 in each of their previous four.
England have won each of their last 26 Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches, the longest ever winning run by any side in the history of the men’s or women’s Championships. The Red Roses have scored 40+ points in 10 of their last 12 Championship games.
Scotland (91.3%) and England (90.8%) have the two highest tackle success rates of any sides in this year’s Championship, while England also have the highest tackle evasion rate of any team in the Championship (26.3%).
Scotland’s Coreen Grant has the highest dominant carry rate of any player to have made 10+ carries in the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations (88%), while only England’s Abbie Dow (13.0) ha gained more metres per carry than Grant (12.0) in this year’s Championship.
FANTASY WATCH
As evidenced in the stats above, Coreen Grant is worth a look and priced at a bargain 13.0 stars. Grant scored 50 points in Round 1 and though her attacking opportunities may be more limited here, she will be ready to pounce when the time comes.
Evie Gallagher (16.0) leads the way for breakdown steals with five while she has also made 22 tackles and would be worthy of a place in anyone’s back row.
For the Roses, lock Rosie Galligan shone with 57 in-game points against Wales and is priced at 12.0 stars while Kildunne, though pricey at 19.7 stars, has been worth the investment so far.
TEAMS
Scotland: 15 Chloe Rollie, 14 Rhona Lloyd, 13 Emma Orr, 12 Meryl Smith, 11 Coreen Grant, 10 Helen Nelson, 9 Caity Mattinson; 1 Leah Bartlett, 2 Lana Skeldon, 3 Christine Belisle, 4 Emma Wassell, 5 Louise McMillan, 6 Rachel Malcolm (captain), 7 Alex Stewart, 8 Evie Gallagher
Replacements: 16 Elis Martin, 17 Molly Wright, 18 Elliann Clarke, 19 Fiona McIntosh, 20 Rachel McLachlan, 21 Mairi McDonald, 22 Lisa Thomson, 23 Francesca McGhie
England: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Megan Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Natasha Hunt; 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Maud Muir, 4 Rosie Galligan, 5 Abbie Ward, 6 Zoe Aldcroft, 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Alex Matthews
Replacements: 16 Connie Powell, 17 Mackenzie Carson, 18 Kelsey Clifford, 19 Maddie Feunati, 20 Marlie Packer, 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Zoe Harrison, 23 Sydney Gregson
