Scotland vs. England

MrsCyclops very kindly got me tickets for the Women's Six Nations game for Christmas.  

During the anthems we had an absolutely brutal squally shower.  We were equipped with waterproofs, and had to turn our backs to the wind to keep ourselves dry.  The rain was torrential and freezing.  The pipe major nearly got blown over, the W6N flag on the field tried to get away from those holding it, and God Save the King was nearly lost in the wind.  A lusty rendition of Flower of Scotland fared just a little better.

The women's game in Scotland has received nothing like the investment seen south of the border, and it rather showed.  There were some great moments and huge commitment from the Scots - I can't even imagine how many tackles they completed.  However, the tackles were and had to be brutal.  The Red Roses were bigger, stronger, faster and sharper.  The Roses played some beautiful rugby and the Scots never really managed to string more than a few phases together.  

The result was 46-0 to the Roses, and would have been even worse if the gusty wind hadn't prevented most conversion attempts from succeeding.

It was enjoyable to watch and in some ways more happened than in the some of the men's games, and The Hive stadium (the smaller one at Murrayfield usually home to Edinburgh Rugby was sold out.  The players from both teams were completely mobbed for autographs afterwards.   It's great to see the Women's game coming on, even if Scotland still has some work to do to become competitive.