Scotland head coach expects Wales to adopt power game
Scotland head coach Sione Fukofuka expects Wales to adopt a power game when the sides meet in Saturday's Women's Six Nations opener on Saturday. The sides last met in the opening match of last year's Rugby World Cup, when the Scots ran out convincing 38-8 winners in Salford. But Fukofuka, who leads Scotland for the first time having taken charge of the team in January, expects a much tighter encounter at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
"The rivalry probably doesn't have to be spoken about too much," Fukofuka said. "But the intent that we've approached this week in particular has been really, really exciting, so just now looking forward to kick-off. "When you watch that [World Cup] game, it took a long time for Scotland to break that team down.
Wales stayed in the contest, so we're expecting them to come with a lot of physicality. "We're expecting them to compete everywhere, the collision zone in particular. They've picked a 6-2 bench, so it's a bit of a telling sign that they want to come physically at us.
"We're really prepared and pretty confident in the work that we put in that we're ready for what they're bringing. " Francesca McGhie, who scored a hat-trick of tries in that World Cup victory over Wales, has just missed out on the matchday 23 as she recovers from a shoulder injury, with Fukofuka expecting to have the wing available to face England at Murrayfield in round two.