Sean Lynn had little room for manoeuvre in constructing his first Welsh side, but he has taken the bold steps you would expect of him.
He has solved the No 10 dilemma by placing Kayleigh Powell at 12, giving the attack a double edge at its source. Both Powell and Lleucu George have a powerful boot, but Powell’s Sevens pace adds much needed punch to midfield.
Another crucial decision is to place Georgia Evans at 8. Wales have been lacking a really dominant force there since the retirement of Shona Wakley.
Evans is given the chance to build an even more destructive back-row alongside Kate Williams and Beth Lewis. But there’s no Alex Callender.
The tussle between Evans and Gallagher should be worth watching. But what happens when Jade Konkel is allowed to appear later in the proceedings? Will the Welsh have an answer to her?
For similar reasons Lynn has brought the younger Pyrs sister into the second row for her debut.
You might claim he is playing safe by including no fewer than eight players from his own (erstwhile) club, Gloucester-Hartpury.
I fear Cymru will do well to win in Edinburgh. If they don’t, Lynn’s rebuilding work will prove even tougher.
The good news for Scotland is the inclusion of players I feared were still injured (Bonar, Orr, Skeldon).
Bryan Easson is prepared to leave Jade Konkel on the bench, which will help strengthen the second-half performance.
Many congratulations to Hollie Cunningam, who makes her debut for the first whistle. It’s been a long wait for her.
Most of the side was predictable, though Leia Brebner-Holden gets the nod over Caity Mattinson at scrum-half. There’s plenty of pace out behind, and crucially, I feel, a unity of purpose in the Scottish side that has been sadly lacking in their opponents. That has been one of the major causes of their recent toils.
There’s one curiosity in the Scottish list: the skipper,Rachel Malcolm, is shown as ‘unattached’, quite a rarity these days. When she announced her retirement from Loughborough Lightning, she made no mention of her future moves, apart from staying loyal to the Scottish side.
Given the great rarity of Scottish wins in the past, it’s pleasing to be able to predict a home win in Edinburgh. We’ll see how far the Lynn magic can go to upset the odds.
Scotland
15 Rollie, 14 Lloyd, 13 Orr, 12 Thomson, 11 McGhie, 10 Nelson, 9 Brebner-Holden, 1 Young, 2 Skeldon, 3 Clarke, 4 Cunningham, 5 Bonar, 6 Malcolm (captain), 7 McLachlan, 8 Gallagher
16 Martin, 17 Bartlett 18 Belisle, 19 *Ferrie 20 Stewart 21 Konkel, 22 Mattinson, 23 Wills
*uncapped
Wales
15 Joyce, 14 Neumann, 13 Jones (captain), 12 K. Powell, 11 Cox, 10 George, 9 Bevan, 1 Maisie Davies, 2 Phillips, 3 Scoble, 4 Fleming, 5 A’ Pyrs, 6 K. Williams, 6 Lewis, 8 G. Evans
16 K. Jones, 17 G. Pyrs, 18 Rose, 19 Crabb, 20 King 21 Megan Davies, 22 Keight, 23 Metcalfe
