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Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025: Scotland v Wales

Venue: Salford Community Stadium Date: Saturday, 23 August Kick-off: 14:45 BST

Co-captain Kate Williams says Wales are ready to prove a point when they take on Scotland at the Rugby World Cup.

Wales again came away with the Wooden Spoon at this year’s Women’s Six Nations, losing all five games for the first time in their history.

But after a full pre-season and a drawn two-Test tour of Australia under head coach Sean Lynn, Williams says her side are ready to show what they can do on the biggest stage of all.

“We want to be a hard team to beat, we want the opposition to think ‘we’ve got Wales next, that’s going to be a massive test for us’.

Scotland have won their last three meetings against Wales, the most recent a nail-biting 24-21 victory in Edinburgh.

“I know that the recent results have proven that Scotland have had the upper hand over us, but if we take context into it, we only had two days with Lynny before we were playing in the Six Nations. I think we’re a different team now,” said Williams.

The 25-year-old credits a higher intensity in training for their progress, which included a historic win against Australia in Brisbane last month.

“It’s not just two hand touch, we’re putting in shots, we’re doing full contact in those sessions, a full 15 on 15,” she said.

“It’s where we can really test our attack, test our defence and it’s where we’re drawing massive confidence from.

Lynn welcomes the competitiveness in his 32-player squad, admitting he had some selection headaches before naming his team for Saturday’s opener.

“That’s where we’re at at the moment. It’s really nice, the competitiveness that we’ve got in the squad,” he said.

“Today it got a little bit spicy in training and that’s how I think it should be.

“We’re in a World Cup and it’s the biggest World Cup, so it’s really exciting and the girls are just thriving on it.”

While Lynn said there is still more to come from his side, he believes they have made progress in the collision area over the summer, with Ben Flower coming into his backroom staff.

“We’re on the right track. I set targets after the Six Nations to the players. They went away and have come back in better shape,” Lynn said.

“The big emphasis is making sure that we can play with the intensity that I want us to.

It’s been a nightmare few days for Tottenham.

After reaching an agreement to sign England international Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace on Wednesday, they received the news that instead he is set to join bitter north London rivals Arsenal.

Spurs are in the market for a high quality attacking midfield reinforcement. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski have both suffered serious injuries while Yves Bissouma missed the opening game of the season in the Premier League.

Earlier this summer, a proposed move for Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest fell through.

Fans have been speaking to BBC Sport to vent their frustration at the situation, with one saying: “Spurs now enter the final few weeks of the transfer window reeking of desperation.”

However, another said: “If he’s a Gooner we don’t want him. Simple.”

With less than two weeks of the window left, the options for Spurs in the transfer market are limited, but there are players that could prove to be smart targets should Spurs choose to pursue them.

It will be important to ensure any new midfield signing is physical, a good carrier of the ball over distance, technically secure when deeper, and a strong passer.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank’s former midfielder was pivotal to Brentford last season, with two goals and 10 assists. In describing what Frank may be looking for in his attacking midfielder, there isn’t a better place to look than the Denmark international.

Damsgaard provided Frank with solutions to their build-up play, frequently dropping into wide areas, deeper. Opposition defenders were unsure whether or not to follow him into these areas and Brentford could get up the pitch more often.

He would help Brentford with smart passes to the wingers or turning on the ball and driving with it himself. When under pressure, he would bounce it back to a defender with a first-time pass, not taking unnecessary risks.

By playing well-weighted direct through balls often, Damsgaard was a large factor in Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo’s goal output.

Off the ball, Damsgaard pressed in a front two, intercepting the ball in dangerous situations. His pressing intensity and willingness to defend embodied the culture Frank has tried to instil in his teams throughout his career.

Although slightly on the nose, the well-rounded midfielder would slot into Frank’s system at Spurs with ease. The familiarity ensures questions about tactical fit are a non-issue.

It is important to contextualise El Khannouss’ Premier League performances and statistics, given he played for a poor Leicester side who spent large parts of last season defending deep.

Although he only scored two goals and assisted three times in the league, his performances have caught the eye of teams in the Premier League, most recently being linked to Crystal Palace as a potential Eze replacement.

What stands out immediately is his technical quality. El Khannouss is accomplished with both feet and is often seen playing passes and crosses with either, depending on what flank he has floated towards.

The manner in which he dropped as deep as the defensive midfielders, to improve the Foxes’ build-up, is something Frank would appreciate. In these situations, he would carry his team upfield using deceptive feints to create space from opponents pressing him.

Although El Khannouss is an attacking midfielder, he often found himself in wing positions and showcased great crossing quality and high-level ball manipulation.

He has good pace in big spaces but on the ball plays at a slower pace appropriately. His two-footedness provides balance and additional creative solutions alongside left-footed wingers.

Akliouche, just like Eze, is a natural winger who moves to play more centrally during the game. With five goals and 10 assists in Ligue 1 last season, the Frenchman took a step up, although he underperformed against his expected goals total of 9.3.

Even as a winger, he has a tendency to drop deep. From such areas, he can drive the ball over large distances quickly, showing strength to hold off defenders. His ball manipulation is impressive, often using his studs and ball rolls to confuse defenders.

Against deep defences, the Monaco winger has been seen moving into central midfield positions to find solutions. Here he passes well and can find team-mates at a variety of angles. As a talented passer, he would help to provide balance to Spurs’ group of impressive ball carriers.

Despite his on-the-ball quality, he doesn’t neglect his off-the-ball work. He tracks back diligently if his team have lost the ball. In attack, he makes good runs behind the opposition’s back line.

Frank likes his versatile attackers, particularly those that can play multiple roles. Akliouche provides a different profile down the middle and would work well with Porro on the right flank. This would free Kudus to play centrally too.

Like Eze, Dibling is a winger who can play centrally. For Southampton last season, there were games in which he stayed fairly central.

As a winger, Dibling resists pressure well from defenders on his back, getting used to being closely marked in the Premier League with pressure from behind him. He takes this quality with him when playing in midfield.

When starting centrally, he often dropped deep and towards the right side of the pitch to provide his team’s defenders with an extra passing option. To find space in these situations, he would fake to run in behind, dragging a midfielder with him, before dropping deep quickly to receive the ball.

If there is the opportunity to turn with the ball, the Englishman does so and impressively avoids being tackled by riding contact well over large distances and having quick feet in small spaces.

He can be less active than others on this list when he doesn’t have the ball and prefers to receive the ball to feet, rather than making runs behind a defender. This is almost exclusively done towards the right side of the pitch, given his preference for using his right foot.

At times, Dibling would suit playing down the middle more than on the wing if he were to sign for Spurs.

By Bardi, fan writer from The Extra Inch

Daniel Levy’s reign has seen an upturn in fortune and fortunes at Spurs, but they still seem unable to compete and complete transfers.

With Morgan Gibbs-White’s move to Spurs in pieces, Eze seemed the next logical step, especially with top-four rivals out of the equation, but somehow Levy and Spurs failed to get it over the line.

Who moved the line depends on where you stand in the great Levy debate, but what’s clear is that he seems unable to work with other Premier League clubs.

Premier League chairmen know what to expect from him. They expect to be “drawn over the coals” and they’ve had enough.

Eze was probably not the player we needed. He’s not a high-volume creative passer or a dribbling sensation, but he represented far more than that. He’s a player at the peak of his powers, and his signature would be a statement of intent. It would also ultimately deny Arsenal a player they coveted.

A selection of fan responses to BBC Sport on Thursday

Brian: Totally embarrassing. Over a week to get Eze signed and still couldn’t manage it and Arsenal do it in hours. A kick in the teeth to Spurs fans. We spend so much wasted time on negotiating deals, it’s pure frustration!

Bob: Can’t say I’m that bothered. He is 27 years old and his career so far has been QPR and Palace. He’s not been wanted by anyone like Barca or Real – move on.

Ian: Spurs’ mentality is like being a multi-millionaire and driving 25 minutes out of town because the petrol is 5p cheaper. By the time you get home you haven’t saved anything, wasted a bunch of time, and everyone else is confused by what you’re doing and laughing at you.

Andre: Eze is a fantastic player and would strengthen any team he plays for. But, we can’t look back. He isn’t a Spurs player so let’s not cry about him. Onwards and upwards!

Christopher: Can’t help but feel that Ange would’ve sounded Eze out and identified if his heart was in joining THFC or if he was stringing them along. If anything, it would have prevented this song and dance from playing out at Levy’s Tottenham.

Anthony: Completely get it from Eze’s perspective, it’s his boyhood club. For me, it’s another case of Levy and co. taking far too long to wrap something up. Realistically this only reportedly happened because of Havertz’s injury, but in football you should never take anything for granted. Not sure where to go now, put the extra funds towards Savinho and find another 10 quick.

Bob: If he’s a Gooner we don’t want him. Simple.