Scotland select side to take on Celtic nations

A SCOTLAND development squad called The Thistles will compete against their counterparts from Ireland and Wales in a pilot competition called the Celtic Challenge early next year, which aims to provide more highperformance playing opportunities for women players ahead of the 2023 Six Nations Championship.

In year one, the tournament, which is supported by World Rugby, will feature one team from each Union competing in a series of home and away fixtures over a six- week period commencing at the end of January, with the competition concluding at the end of February, which is four weeks prior to the start of the 2023 TikTok Six Nations Championship.

The ambition is to launch a full, six- team tournament in 2024 featuring two sides from each Union.

The Thistles squad will comprise rising talent within the Scottish Futures programme and Tennent’s Premiership, alongside homebased contracted players. The coaching set- up will be confirmed in the New Year.

“This announcement is another key part of our 2022- 2026 women and girls’ strategy, helping us provide an additional level of competition and creating better opportunities for our best players based in Scotland,” said Scottish Rugby’s head of women and girls’ strategy, Gemma Fay.

“I’m delighted we are working together with IRFU and WRU to progress the women’s game and we are excited to learn as much as we can from this pilot year which will allow us to develop the Celtic Challenge moving forward.”

Fixture details with locations and kick- off times will be fully confirmed by the respective Home Unions when these are finalised.

Celtic Challenge fixtures

The Thistles v Welsh Development XV. Saturday January 21/ Sunday January 22, 2023 ( location TBC)

Welsh Development XV v Combined Provinces XV. Sunday January 29, 2023, Cardiff Arms Park

Combined Provinces XV v The Thistles. Saturday February 4, 2023, Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Welsh Development XV v The Thistles. Saturday February 11, 2023, Cardiff Arms Park

Combined Provinces XV v Welsh Development XV. Saturday February 18, 2023, Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

The Thistles v Combined Provinces XV. Saturday