Scottish-based team to play in pilot Celtic Challenge competition

A Scottish-based team will compete against sides from Wales and Ireland in a new women’s Celtic Challenge competition.

A Scottish team will play in the new Celtic Challenge competition. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

It will be staged as a pilot event ahead of the 2023 TikTok Six Nations. Each team will play two home and two away games.

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

Scottish Rugby will be represented by The Thistles, with the coaching set-up to be confirmed in the new year. The squad will be made up of players from the Scottish Futures programme, the Tennent’s Premiership, and home-based contracted players.

It was announced last week that 28 Scottish women’s players had been given full-time professional contracts, 24 of whom play in England.

Fixtures

The Thistles v Welsh Development XV (21 or 22 Jan, venue TBC)

Combined Provinces XV v The Thistles (4 Feb, Kingspan Stadium, Belfast)

Welsh Development XV v The Thistles (11 Feb, Cardiff Arms Park)

The Thistles v Combined Provinces XV (25 Feb, venue TBC)