What is WXV? Scotland ready for South Africa opener in 'biggest step forward in women's rugby'

Rachel Malcolm hailed the biggest ever development in women’s rugby on the eve of Scotland’s WXV2 opener against South Africa.

Scotland Women captain Rachel Malcolm during a training session at Hive Stadium prior to flying out to South Africa for the WXV tournament opener. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Scotland travel to Stellenbosch to take on the hosts on the first weekend of World Rugby’s new game-changing women’s competition. WXV is World Rugby's new, three level, elite women's 15s rugby tournament that aims to supercharge the reach, competitiveness, and value of elite women's rugby.

Scotland’s fourth-place finish in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations saw them automatically qualify for the competition’s second level, where they will compete in a six-team pool alongside South Africa, Japan, Italy, Samoa, and the USA.

Scotland are optimistic that they can secure a result in Stellenbosch, going into the competition three places higher in the World Rugby rankings than their opponents, and Malcolm is keen to make a fast start to the new competition.

“I think it’s probably the biggest step forward in the women’s game – to get more exposure to high level rugby and to get women’s rugby out there,” she said. “To inspire little girls to let them know that there’s opportunities like this out there is really important for us.

“In terms of developing the game, it’s important for all of these teams to get the opportunity to play different styles of rugby. We don’t play teams like South Africa very often so it’s a massive opportunity for us to play them.

“They are really an incredible team and it’s an honour to get to play them in their home country as well so I’m sure it will be a very exciting match.”

WXV is giving fans more opportunities to see the best teams and the biggest names in women's rugby compete on the global stage. There is everything to play for as teams compete to secure promotion, avoid relegation for their regional positions and win points to climb the global rankings.

Scotland welcome the returns of lock Emma Wassell and centre Lisa Thomson to the side, with Louise McMillan and Meryl Smith dropping to the bench – the only changes from the team’s recent 36-5 win over Spain.

Malcolm, who first captained Scotland in 2018, is used to leading her team out but admits this match will be extra special.

“It’s an incredible honour to get to lead my country in any capacity and I think particularly a group this special,” Malcolm added. “We’ve got a lot of really cool stories within our group of players so to kind of understand why they are here and getting to lead a group of players who I’m so connected with is incredibly special.

“To play at what is the first tournament of its kind, we have an opportunity to create history by being a part of it and by also coming out here and doing our best to challenge for it as well.

“We’re extremely excited and it’s an absolute honour for me to lead the side, but I think this is an easy job for me because I’ve got such an incredible group of players behind me.”

All matches will be broadcast live so back your nation on ITV X.