Women's Six Nations: England want to 'ruin' Scottish party in front of record crowd

Scotland will host England in front of a record home crowd in Edinburgh but the visitors are preparing to "ruin" the party in the Women's Six Nations.

All 7,774 tickets have been sold at the Hive Stadium as the hosts look to end their 25-year wait for a win over the Red Roses.

WXV2 winners Scotland lost to France in their last outing after an opening win over Wales, while England are unbeaten.

Red Roses wing Jess Breach says England are expecting a "tough challenge".

"Scotland have changed how they play or how they view playing and it is going to be a really competitive game," Breach told BBC Rugby Union Weekly.

"They went to WXV2 and won and they are excited about winning and lifting trophies. The game will be physical and hard but we want that challenge.

"A sell-out crowd for them is phenomenal and they should be really proud of themselves, as we are as a team, we want sell-out crowds to play in front of even if it is an away fixture.

"We want to ruin that party for them."

• Aldcroft will captain England against Scotland

• Rollie makes first start of Championship against England

• Ward felt 'judged' on return after giving birth

England captain Packer drops to the bench

England captain Marlie Packer has dropped to the bench for the trip north - a move former Wales international Philippa Tuttiett believes is to give others a chance to impress.

Zoe Aldcroft will deputise as captain in Packer's absence as she moves from lock to flanker, with vice captain Sadia Kabeya retaining her place in the back row.

"I don't think she has been dropped on her performance, I think it is management of her time," Tuttiett told Rugby Union Weekly.

"England are so lucky with all their players and, in order to see their players, they need to force some movement."

Abbie Ward steps in for Aldcroft at lock, an area where England have an embarrassment of riches.

• Galligan says coach Mitchell is honest about selection

Tuttiett added: "Zoe Aldcroft has started the last seven games in the second row and she has moved to the back row so who are you moving there?

"You move the senior player, who you know what she can do in Marlie Packer, to the bench, and keep Sadia Kabeya on as she continues to grow and develop.

"Then it opens up that position in the second row, which is one of the most competitive areas for England at the moment."

'We are building crowds through our performances'

England are unbeaten in their past 26 Six Nations matches as they chase a sixth consecutive title, but Scotland have shown improved form recently.

They last beat England 15-13 in 1999 but will be backed by the biggest ever crowd for a women's game in Scotland.

The hosts have won their three of their past four Six Nations matches and Coreen Grant has made more dominant carries than any other player in this year's tournament.

Exciting full-back Chloe Rollie will start in a hotly anticipated match-up with her opposite number, the tournament's leading try scorer Ellie Kildunne, while Meryl Smith moves to inside centre and Lana Skeldon returns at hooker.

Despite defeat by France in their last game, head coach Bryan Easson says his side are continuing to develop.

"This is a really important block of three games for us," said Easson.

"We are not benchmarking ourselves against the top two or three in the world as yet but we saw from last week against France that our performances are moving forward. We want to do the same again.

"We are building crowds through our performances and we want to show those fans what we are made of."

Line-ups

Scotland: Rollie; Lloyd, Orr, Smith, Grant; Nelson, Mattinson; Bartlett, Skeldon, Belisle, Wassell, Malcolm (capt), Stewart, Gallagher.

Replacements: Wright, Martin, Clarke, McIntosh, McLachlan, McDonald, Thomson, McGhie.

England: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Aitchison, Hunt; Botterman, Cokayne, Muir, Galligan, Ward, Aldcroft (capt), Kabeya, Matthews.

Replacements: Powell, Carson, Clifford, Feaunati, M Packer, L Packer, Harrison, Gregson.

Referee: Clara Munarini (Ita)