BORDERS trio of Chloe Rollie, Lisa Thomson and Lana Skeldon will be joined in the starting line up by Biggar’s Emma Orr when the Scots, ranked tenth in the world, take on seventh-rated Australia at the Rugby World Cup at Northland Events Centre in Whangarei on Saturday morning.

Scotland suffered an agonising 18-15 defeat to Wales in New Zealand last Sunday, leaving them in need of an upset to have any chance progressing to the quarter-finals.

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Three teams could qualify from the group and Scotland currently sit in third place with one point gained due to the narrowness of the three-point defeat.

Australia are bottom following a 41-17 defeat by reigning champions New Zealand.

 

 

Head coach Bryan Easson said: “We haven’t faced Australia before so it’s going to be a different contest to last weekend.

“With a six-day turnaround, we’ve had a greater focus on analysis than usual and it’s been important that the players recover and reset ahead of this Saturday.

“It’s great to have Rachel McLachlan and Emma Orr available for selection again. Australia have an abrasive back-row and we know that Rachel brings physicality to her game, while Emma really impressed us throughout the Women’s Six Nations after making her debut earlier this year.

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“It was excellent to see some travelling support here in Whangarei last weekend and I know that the support from back home has also been outstanding.”

Skeldon will pack down alongside an unchanged prop pairing of Molly Wright and Christine Belisle.

Emma Wassell and Sarah Bonar will link-up in the second-row, while Rachel Malcolm, Rachel McLachlan and Jade Konkel are named in the back-row.

Caity Mattinson and Helen Nelson will pull the strings in their half-back partnership, while Thomson partners Orr in midfield.

The back-three sees Rollie continue at full-back, with Hannah Smith and Rhona Lloyd lining up on the wing.

It has also been confirmed that Eva Donaldson has been added to Scotland’s Rugby World Cup squad as she replaces Eilidh Sinclair who has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to an elbow injury she sustained in Sunday’s opening match against Wales.

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Donaldson will now join the rest of the Scotland squad in Whangarei on Friday.

You can follow this Saturday’s action live on STV player and ITV. Updates will also be provided across Scottish Rugby’s social media channels. Kick off 3am BST.