Here’s Ian Malin’s match report:
That’s all from me, but keep your eyes peeled for our match report – and join me later on for France v Wales, kicking off at 8pm (BST). Thanks for joining me. Bye!
That was a strange second half, with England looking set to disappear out of sight at 40-3 up. Scotland fought back well, aided by some English indiscipline, but were left hanging on after Molly Wright’s red card. Both sides can take positives from their opening game, despite the lopsided scoreline.
Player of the match, Poppy Cleall: “We’ve been waiting a long while for that! Midds might not be happy with some of that, going down to 13 players ... we’ve been watching the men’s games, the new laws, and perhaps we’re a little bit behind.”
Cleall says she’s happy for her twin, Bryony, who earned her second cap today after a long injury layoff. She adds that England are not in top gear yet, with a trip to Italy still to come in Group A.
Full time: England 52-10 Scotland
There’s the final whistle, and England have begun their Six Nations campaign in impressive style.
Penalty try! England 52-10 Scotland
England cross the 50-point mark thanks to a penalty try, with Scotland’s Louise McMillan sent to the sin-bin. Scotland down to 13 for the last minute or so.
76 mins: Cleall tries to make amends by powering over the line all by herself. It takes four or five navy shirts to hold her up. Cleall is awarded player of the match, a fair decision even taking her yellow card into consideration. She’s been immense.
75 mins: Poppy Cleall thinks she’s scored a carbon copy try at the back of the maul, but is penalised for a knock-on. Abbie Ward, who has taken over the captaincy, asks for a penalty try instead. England after every point they can get, here.
72 mins: Rowland took that kick because Scarratt has just gone off, replaced by Megan Jones. Vicky Fleetwood is also on for England.
Jodie Rettie and Panashe Muzambe are on for Scotland. Muzambe has a fascinating back story, having grown up in Zimbabwe before being reunited with her mother in Britain when she was 12.
Updated
TRY! England 45-10 Scotland (Poppy Cleall)
England maintain the pressure, another relentless rolling maul making space for Poppy Cleall to touch down. Rowland hits the post with her conversion from a tight angle.
68 mins: Penalty advantage for England, with a high crossfield kick just too strong for either Breach or Abbie Ward to chase down. No matter ...
67 mins: Cornborough goes off, replaced by Detysha Harper. England now have a MacDonald at scrum-half, Claudia coming on in place of Leanne Riley. England power upfield but Smith steals the ball away just short of the line.
Updated
65 mins: So from a two-player advantage, Scotland are now a player down for the rest of the game. Lisa Cockburn is coming on for Gallagher, who only came on at half-time. At scrum-half, Jenny Maxwell replaces Mairi McDonald.
Updated
Red card! Scotland's Wright is sent off
Three minutes after coming on, Molly Wright is shown a red card. Wright made contact with Vickii Cornborough’s head in a high tackle, and the movement of her forearm makes it more dangerous than Davies’ yellow-card challenge. It’s unlucky for Wright, but a sign that the new concussion protocols are being enforced.
Updated
62 mins: Groizeleau has a word with England captain Emily Scarratt, with her side getting caught on the wrong side too often. Poppy Cleall is back on, while Ellie Kildunne replaces Lydia Thomson.
61 mins: A front-row change for Scotland, as Christine Belisle is replaced by Molly Wright. Skeldon takes the lineout and Thomson sends up a testing high ball that Sarah McKenna collects tidily.
59 mins: Amy Cokayne is on for Marlie Packer, with Lagi Tuima moving into the pack. England caught offside and Nelson kicks for touch. The penalties beginning to stack up for England.
58 mins: Yellow card! The TMO is looking at a high tackle from Lark Davies, the England hooker’s shoulder striking Siobhan Cattigan in the head. England down to 13 for the next three minutes.
57 mins: Simon Middleton turns to his bench, bringing Shaunagh Brown on for Bryony Cleall. The other Cleall, Poppy, still has four minutes in the sin bin.
TRY! England 40-10 Scotland (Smith)
Scotland show tremendous patience in the face of relentless England defence 5m out, and after two penalty advantages they get their reward. Hannah Smith catches Breach rushing out, dummies smartly and spins over the line. Nelson adds the extras.
Updated
53 mins: Hannah Smith almost finds the key gap in England’s depleted defence, before Scarratt hauls Musgrove down with a high tackle ...
51 mins: Yellow card! Scotland work the ball patiently from right to left, looking for a gap. Poppy Cleall sees the chance to rip the ball out but over-extends from the floor. The referee sends her to the sin bin for what she calls “a cynical action”.
49 mins: Scotland get an overlap down the right but Smith tries to force a pass to Musgrove. England are penalised for an offside, and Scotland can try again ...
48 mins: Lisa Thomson is back from the sin bin, and not a minute too soon. An England handling error gives Scotland a scrum 20 metres out, and an opportunity to get more points on the board.
46 mins: It seems Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm was forced off at half-time with an injury. The Scottish pack are already missing Jade Konkel, who is taking a break from rugby to train as a firefighter.
Meanwhile, a milestone for Emily Scarratt:
A huge career milestone for @EmilyScarratt who passes 600 points for England 👏🌹#RedRoses pic.twitter.com/1iPX2hvC7n
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) April 3, 2021
Updated
TRY! England 40-3 Scotland (Rowland)
More dazzling footwork from Jess Breach as she skips past Rollie inches from the left touchline. She’s held up but offloads for Helena Rowland to touch down. Scarratt converts, and the points are piling up for England now.
Updated
42 mins: Evie Gallagher and Liz Musgrove have come on at half-time for Scotland, replacing Rachel Malcolm and Rachel Shankland. Gallagher is making her debut. Musgrove is put under early pressure from Breach under a high kick.
Updated
Peep!
We’re back under way. Worryingly for Scotland, their opponents have the wind behind them in the second half.
Half time! England 33-3 Scotland
An impressive, ominous first half from England, who were not handed many opportunities by their opponents but still crashed over five times. More soon.
TRY! England 33-3 Scotland (Breach)
England have largely used their pack to dominate, but this is a moment of magic from Jess Breach, who slaloms through a ragged Scottish defence to add a fifth. Scarratt converts from a tight angle, and that’s half time.
Updated
Yellow card! Lisa Thomson is sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous challenge as Scotland fought to keep England out. They will be keen to hear the half-time whistle now.
TRY! England 26-3 Scotland (Bryony Cleall)
Scotland regain possession but can’t find any forward momentum and England inevitably break downfield. Great footwork from Scarratt makes space for Lagi Tuima, and with the Scots defence scrambling back, the Cleall twins combine to get the job done, Bryony going over.
Updated
33 mins: Scotland win a second lineout and McDonald offloads to Lisa Thomson, who can’t find a gap in the white wall. Scarratt rips the ball away from Malcolm, and Rowland clears emphatically away.
30 mins: Scotland’s pack look a little outmatched on the back foot, so they need to keep ball upfield. They do well here, Nelson probing at the England defence before kicking to touch from a penalty.
TRY! England 19-3 Scotland (Davies)
England get a lineout five metres out and execute a training-ground move expertly, Lark Davies picking out Abbie Ward, who got about 10 feet off the floor. She hands back to Davies who powers over the line behind a rolling maul. Scarratt converts.
Updated
25 mins: Scotland dally on the ball in their half but get a scrum and the chance to go again. They win the scrum but are penalised after losing momentum at the breakdown...
23 mins: That’s a significant moment for Scotland, who failed to score a point on either of their last two trips to play England. They can also take encouragement from their organised attacking efforts so far.
22 mins: Penalty! England 12-3 Scotland The Scots win a lineout inside the England 22 and will have a chance to strike back. They win a penalty and Helen Nelson takes the three points.
20 mins: Worth mentioning that Sarah Hunter, the England captain, is on water-carrying duties today as she continues her recovery from a long-term injury. She’s just been out to offer Riley some refreshment and tactical advice.
TRY! @EnglandRugby's Marlie Packer gets the first score of #WomensSixNations 2021! pic.twitter.com/dZgLBlLrAC
— Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 3, 2021
Updated
TRY! England 12-0 Scotland (Riley)
The pressure is back on soon enough, with Abbie Ward setting up scrum-half Leanne Riley, who is strong for opposite number Mairi McDonald and powers over the line. Scarratt’s attempted conversion clatters the right-hand post.
Updated
15 mins: A reprieve for Scotland as Scarratt bustles forward but misjudges her pass to Thompson. The visitors win a lineout and temporarily earn some breathing space.
12 mins: Scotland had defended stoutly but they were carved open there, and England are knocking again. Scotland turn it over 10 yards out but Nelson is closed down before she can kick away. England have another chance from the scrum.
TRY! England 7-0 Scotland (Packer)
The review shows that Packer got enough downward pressure as she stretched to touch down next to the post. Scarratt adds the conversion.
Updated
9 mins: England win a dangerous lineout and move across the field, No 8 Poppy Cleall combining with her identical twin sister, Bryony, before finding Marlie Packer, who forces her way over. No try awarded, but the TMO will take a look ...
Updated
7 mins: Scotland’s first foray up the field is ended by a turnover and England break, Jess Breach haring forward from Scarratt’s clever pass ...
5 mins: There’s a break in play as the Scotland captain, Rachel Malcolm, receives treatment, before her team have a scrum.
3 mins: England try to launch a rolling maul but Scotland turn the tide, forcing Rowland to try another ambitious diagonal that’s just out of Thompson’s reach. Scotland have stood up to the first wave of English attack.
2 mins: England have started with real intent, forcing Scotland back and earning a penalty advantage for offside. Rowland looks for Lydia Thompson on the other flank but her kick is overhit; they will come back for the penalty.
Updated
1 min: England full-back Sarah McKenna claims a high ball, and there’s an early chance for fly-half Helena Rowland to show off her sidestepping sevens skills.
Here we go!
The referee, France’s Aurelie Groizeleau, gets this show on the road.
The teams are out on the field at a sun-soaked Castle Park. Before the anthems, a moment to make a statement against racism. Scotland’s players collectively take the knee; England stand, although a couple of players opt to take the knee.
Here come the #RedRoses 🌹#WearTheRose #ENGvSCO #WomensSixNations pic.twitter.com/lhllUO448D
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) April 3, 2021
Twenty minutes from kick-off, and no sign of the game yet on iPlayer. In other news, BBC One is currently showing Escape to the Country. Showing the game on iPlayer is a start, but I can’t help but think putting this match on TV would do a lot more to attract the casual viewer.
Some pre-game reading: England wing Jess Breach, aka “the Jess Express”, on the tournament’s move to free-to-air TV. If you’re in the UK (and have a TV licence), you can watch today’s game on BBC iPlayer.
The teams
England: McKenna; Thompson, Scarratt (c), Tuima, Breach; Rowland, Riley; Cornborough, Davies, B Cleall, Ward, O’Donnell, Aldcroft, Packer, P Cleall.
Replacements: Cokayne, Harper, Brown, Millar-Mills, Fleetwood, MacDonald, Jones, Kildunne.
Scotland: Rollie; Shankland, Smith, Thomson, Gaffney; Nelson, McDonald; Bartlett, Skeldon, Belisle, Wassell, McMillan, Malcolm (c), McLachlan, Cattigan.
Replacements: Wright, Muzambe, Cockburn, Gallagher, Rettie, Maxwell, Law, Musgrove.
Preamble
Women’s rugby union has suffered more than most sports in the turbulence of the past year. The 2021 World Cup has been pushed back and last year’s Six Nations was beset by both Storm Ciara and the Covid-19 outbreak. The 2021 tournament marks a welcome new chapter, with free-to-air BBC coverage likely to make this the most high-profile edition to date.
In this year’s one-off, streamlined format, England are in Group A with Scotland and Italy, and will expect to progress to the final. They must do so without their retired fly-half Katy Daley-Mclean, although competition is healthy to replace her. Helen Rowland gets the nod today after impressing for the sevens.
Scotland’s last Six Nations campaign was hit by a Covid outbreak in their camp, after they suffered a 53-0 loss to England at Murrayfield. Their last two away fixtures against the Red Rose ended in 80-0 and 64-0 defeats, but they look more resilient under new coach Bryan Easson, earning a hard-fought draw with France in October.
The Scotland captain, Rachel Malcolm, insists her team are “excited, not daunted” by today’s challenge. Easson has focused on making his side “tough to break down”, a hint that damage limitation may be his main aim. Regardless of the result, this feels like a new era for all concerned. Kick-off at Castle Park: 3pm BST.
