Statement: Scotland confirms coaches departure with immediate effect, replacement confirmed

It was confirmed today that assistant Coach Martin Haag has departed from the management team. The former Bath and England player worked as a coaching consultant with USA Women’s team during the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand before joining officially in February 2023.

Glasgow Warriors centurion Fraser Brown, who has recently coached Watsonian FC in the Super Series and the women’s Warriors’ side in the Celtic Challenge, joins the team on a consultancy basis as the Forwards Coach up to and during the WXV 2 tournament.

Easson added: “We’re very pleased to welcome Fraser to our coaching group. Fraser has a wealth of experience in high performance sport as both a player and coach, and we are really looking forward to working with him.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to Martin for his commitment and contribution to Scotland Women over the years, and we all wish him well for the future.”

On his appointment, Brown said: “I’m both honoured and excited about the opportunity to work with Scotland Women’s players and management group.

“I’ve both seen and experienced first-hand the growth and potential of the women’s game in Scotland after my time coaching in the Celtic Challenge, and I’m really excited to see what we can achieve as a group.”

Writing in his Times column, Wales' Rugby World Cup co-captain Jac Morgan was the sole Welshman in his starting XV.

Warburton also surprised many by including Bath tighthead Archie Griffin on the bench, following the 22-year-old's impressive performances for Wales in Australia this summer.

He also selected Wales hooker Dewi Lake among his replacements.

Despite Wales' nine consecutive Test defeats, the former Lions captain remains confident in their potential to contribute strongly to the Lions next summer.

15. Blair Kinghorn

14. Tommy Freeman

13. Robbie Henshaw

12. Sione Tuipulotu

11. Duhan van der Merwe

10. Marcus Smith

9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Ellis Genge

2. Dan Sheehan

3. Tadhg Furlong

4. George Martin

5. Joe McCarthy

6. Ollie Chessum

7. Jac Morgan

8. Ben Earl. 

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Andrew Porter, Archie Griffin, Maro Itoje, Caelan Doris, Alex Mitchell, Finn Russell, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.