'Proud, so proud' - Scotland beat Ireland in highly charged Six Nations triumph

Scotland's Evie Wells, left, and Chloe Rollie celebrate after the win over Ireland in the Guinness Women's Six Nations at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh. | SNS Group / SRU

Bryan Easson admitted his emotions got the better of him following Scotland's 26-19 victory over Ireland as they closed out their 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign with a dramatic victory.

Fran McGhie went over with the clock in the red to seal the win at Hive Stadium, with Lana Skeldon, Emma Orr and Rachel McLachlan also crossing the whitewash for the home side.

The visitors enjoyed a stronger start to the game in Edinburgh and pulled ahead early through Amee-Leigh Costigan's try before Scotland found their spark.

Scotland's Evie Wells, left, and Chloe Rollie celebrate after the win over Ireland in the Guinness Women's Six Nations at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh. | SNS Group / SRU

Scott Bemand's Irish side came from behind to draw level twice in the second half but an emphatic defensive performance from Scotland held them at bay to secure the win, in what was a moving victory on home ground for Easson.

"It was extremely emotional," he said. "I don't know what the possession stats were but we had to fight to get everything that we got.

"Defensively, we were absolutely outstanding, some of the turnovers. Then to have the skill to score. We deserved everything we got today because of the fight and the heart in that team performance. I can't tell you what I felt at the end there."

Scotland had only 38 per cent of possession compared to Ireland's 62 per cent in the final statistics and victory for the home side means that they end their 2025 Guinness Women's Six Nations campaign with two wins from five, having also downed Wales 24-21 in round one.

A tough 59-7 loss to England last week, coming on the heels of a home defeat to Italy, was a knock to their confidence with one game left to play. Easson revealed his pride in his team's fight to return to their best and close their campaign in style.

"I think we've had a couple of difficult performances during the Six Nations but we did a review last week after the England game and as soon as the game was finished, we drew a line under it," he said.

"As soon as we got off the flight last week, it was all about this week.

"It was all about fighting for each other."

McLachlan was named player of the match in Scotland, racking up an impressive 62 metres carried to top the standings.

Player of the match Rachel McLachlan scores for Scotland in the 26-19 win over Ireland in the Guinness Women's Six Nations match in Edinburgh. | SNS Group / SRU

The flanker was also the recipient of a Chloe Rollie offload to dot down in the corner on the hour, with Helen Nelson's conversion making it a seven-point lead for the home team.

And following the match, McLachlan echoed Easson's pride in their performance.

"Proud, so proud," she said. "There's been some down bits in this campaign for us.

"We wanted to come out and show heart and pride in the jersey at home and I think we did exactly that.

"We pride ourselves on our work and I think we really showed that. We came into this game with belief and we continued to believe throughout.

"We picked ourselves up and just kept going. We knew we had it in us."

England, meanwhile, claimed a seventh successive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title but subjected Allianz Stadium to a white knuckle ride in a ragged 43-42 victory over France.

The home side raced to a 31-7 lead inside half an hour with Emma Sing crossing twice, but their early conviction vanished as France woke up to the opportunity before them in the Grand Slam decider.

England’s early onslaught of tries had provided enough of a cushion to weather the fightback staged by the underdogs, who thrived off a sharp offloading game from their forwards and ingenuity in attack.

It completed a fourth consecutive Grand Slam and registered their 55th win in 56 Tests, but there were frailties on show across the park that will encourage their rivals ahead of the home World Cup in August and September.

Italy will host Wales on Sunday in Parma in the final match of the championship.