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Findlay: England clash a barometer of Scotland progress

SusieBrown13SB
Scotland women’s head coach Karen Findlay insists her side can use their RBS 6 Nations opener against England as a litmus test to see how far they have progressed.

Scotland women’s head coach Karen Findlay insists her side can use their RBS 6 Nations opener against England as a litmus test to see how far they have progressed.

Findlay’s side line will line up at Esher Rugby Club in Surrey on Saturday with a mixture of experience and new faces.

Bridget Millar-Mills makes her debut at lock alongside Lindsay Wheeler, who will rack up her 53rd appearance in a Scotland jersey.

Winger Annabel Sergeant returns to the starting XV after a season out with Susie Brown captaining the squad again at No.8.

Prop Heather Lockhart wins her 59th cap having made her debut in 2004 with blindside Mary Lafaiki making her first Scotland start after six substitute appearances.

Newcomers Becca Parker, Jade Konkel, Sarah Law and Leanne Neary all make the Scotland bench.

Scotland warmed up for the clash with a 10-5 victory in a training game against the British Amy two weeks ago in blizzard conditions, and Findlay feels they are in good shape to give reigning RBS 6 Nations champions England a scare.

“Scotland against England always has that added edge,” said Findlay.

“It’ll be a really good opportunity to see how our training has progressed, how our squad has developed and be an exciting start to the 2013 campaign.

“It was really important our players had the chance to trial some things we’ve been practising in training and from a coaching perspective.

“It was a great opportunity for us to try out some of the combinations we wanted to look at in terms of our front five, back row and midfield.”

SCOTLAND

15 Steph Johnston 14 Annabel Sergeant 13 Sarah Dixon 12 Lisa Ritchie 11 Megan Gaffney 10 Tanya Griffith 9 Louise Dalgliesh

1 Heather Lockhart 2 Sarah Quick 3 Tracey Balmer 4 Lindsay Wheeler 5 Bridget Millar-Mills 6 Mary Lafaiki 7 Tess Forsberg 8 Susie Brown

Replacements: 16 Beth Dickens 17 Suzanne McKerlie-Hex 18 Lindsey Smith 19 Becca Parker 20 Jade Konkel 21 Sarah Law 22 Leanne Neary 23 Lauren Harris