Club-mates become rivals for qualifier

By Harry Scott-Munro
19/9/21

Exeter Chiefs prop Laura Delgado will again captain her country, with Patricia Garcia lining up at scrum-half, as Spain look to make it two wins from two in the RWC 2021 Europe Qualifiers, when they take on new club team-mate Chloe Rollie’s Scotland (5pm.)

Monday saw Spain upset the odds with an 8-7 victory over Ireland, which has put them in with a huge opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.

Lea Ducher’s late try secured the victory against the Irish, and she is one of three changes to the Spanish starting XV, with Carmen Castellucci and Paula Requena also taking their places in the second-row and back three respectively.

Spain will look to show the same ambition that earned them that historic victory on Monday against the Scots, who won their most recent encounter 36-12 in January 2019.

Head Coach Jose Antonio Barrio admitted that that result “left a bitter taste” for his side, but their focus will firmly be on their goal of qualifying for the World Cup come kick-off on Sunday.

“This game is totally different to the previous ones against Scotland. The history of the matches between us doesn’t have any importance right now,” Barrio explained.

“In previous matches both teams [were in] different moments of team development, physical form or objectives. Qualification success for us [relies] on taking every match as an objective in itself. We will do our best and hope that it will be enough to win the game.”

Meanwhile for Scotland, they know that anything other than a victory will effectively end their hopes of qualification. Their 38-13 defeat to Italy leaves them in a precarious position within the round-robin format.

Ahead of the crunch match, Head Coach Brian Easson has made two alterations to his side, with Louise McMillan moving to the second-row in the absence of Sarah Bonar, who is unavailable due to work commitments, with Rachel McLachlan moving to the back-row from the bench.

Speaking to World Rugby, Exeter full-back Rollie was full of praise for her Spanish counterparts, although she was quick to highlight the areas that her side will look to exploit.

“They can be a bit tight in defence and there are times that we'll be able to pull the trigger and release our backs and get it wide. We'll focus on going through our motions first and then look to do that.”

Spain Team: Lea Ducher; Paula Requena, Amaia Erbina, Malia Argudo, Maria Garcia; Anne Fernandez de Corres, Patricia Garcia; Saioa Juarena, Marga Rodriquez, Laura Delgado (capt); Anna Puig, Carmen Castellucci; Olivia Fresneda, Maria Calvo, Lourdes Alameda. Replacements: Isobel Rico, Cristina Blanco, Maika Brust, Monica Castelo, Carmen Rodera, Lucia Diaz, Bea Dominquez, Eva Aguirre

Scotland Team: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Hannah Smith, Lisa Thomson, Megan Gaffney; Helen Nelson, Jenny Maxwell; Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon, Christine Belisle; Emma Wassell, Louise McMillan; Rachel Malcolm (capt), Rachel McLachlan, Jade Konkel. Replacements: Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Katie Dougan, Siobhan Cattigan, Evie Gallagher, Mairi McDonald, Sarah Law, Abi Evans