Scotland Women have been forced to shuffle their half-back pairing ahead of their Scotland’s 6 Nations match against Italy on Saturday at Meggetland (28 February, kick-off 12 noon) – admission is free.

While the pack remains unchanged, scrum-half - and kicker - Sarah Gill has failed to recover from a head injury sustained in the 26 – 12 defeat to France which means that fly-half Louise Dalgleish moves to scrum-half while team-mate Tanya Griffith comes off the bench and into the fly-half berth.

Despite the loss of Gill, the repositioning of Dalgleish and inclusion of Griffith is relatively straight-forward with the pair partnering regularly for formidable Premier League outfit Royal High Corstorphine – and were given special dispensation to play at the weekend in order to sharpen that partnership ahead of Saturday’s game.

Dempsey said: “Italy will pose a massive threat, they will be big up front and very strong and I expect that they will look to disrupt our game and slow the ball down.

“It is up to us to play at a tempo that doesn’t allow them dictate the pace of the game while playing our rugby in the right areas of the field.”

Dempsey is also aware of the threat posed by Italian kicking ace Veronica Schiavon – who scored 21 points in last year’s 31-10 defeat of the Scots to hand them the wooden spoon.

“We’ve been looking at footage of last year’s game and we recognise that we face a real threat from their fly-half Schiavon – who is probably the best kicker in the 6 Nations. We must maintain our composure under pressure,” added Dempsey.”

Lana Blyth (Murrayfield Wanderers) returns to the squad for the first time this season due to being unavailable through work commitments, while full-back Lynsey Douglas (Murrayfield Wanderers) returns to the bench having recovered from the calf injury that ruled her out against France.
 
Other players not considered through injury are: Jilly McCord (knee), Suzi Newton (knee)
Ronnie Fitzpatrick (thumb), Sarah Dixon (knee).

Scotland Women team to face Italy, Meggetland, Edinburgh (kick-off 12 noon) – admission to all Scotland Women, A, and age-grade matches is free

15 Lucy Millard (Murrayfield Wanderers)

14 Cara d’Silva (Royal High Corstorphine)
13 Laura Steven (Murrayfield Wanderers)
12 Erin Kerr (Richmond)
11 Victoria Blakebrough (Richmond)

10 Tanya Griffith (Royal High Corstorphine)
9 Louise Dalgleish (Royal High Corstorphine)

1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead Jordanhill)
2 Sarah-Louise Walker (Watsonians)
3 Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers)
4 Louise Moffat (Kirkcaldy)
5 Lindsay Wheeler (Team Northumbria)
6 Lynne Reid CAPTAIN (Royal High Corstorphine)
7 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers)
8 Susie Brown (Hillhead / Jordanhill)

Replacements
16 Nikki Mcleod (Edinburgh University)
17 Ellen Beattie (Murrayfield Wanderers)
18 Joy Lyth (Lismore)
19 Keri Holdsworth (Watsonians)
20 Lana Blyth (Murrayfield Wanderers)
21 Lynsey Douglas (Richmond)
22 Katy Green (Murrayfield Wanderers)

FREE TO ATTEND REPRESENTATIVE AND AGE-GRADE FIXTURES

Scotland A
Friday 27 February –Scotland A v Italy A, McDiarmid Park, Perth (kick-off 7.30pm)

Scotland Women
Saturday 28 February – Scotland v Italy, Meggetland (kick-off 12 noon)
Friday 13 March – Scotland v Ireland, Meggetland (kick-off 7.30pm)
Saturday 21 March – England v Scotland, Esher RFC SW London (1.30pm)

Scotland under-20
Friday 27 February – Scotland under-20 v Italy under-20, Dens Park, Dundee (kick-off, 7.30pm)
Friday 13 March – Scotland under-20 v Ireland under-20, McDiarmid Park, Perth (kick-off, 7.30pm)
Friday 20 March – England under-20 v Scotland under-20, Sixways Stadium, Worcester (kick-off 8pm)

Scotland under-19
Sunday 1 March – Scotland under-19 v Italy under-19, Lasswade RFC, Midlothian (kick-off, 12 noon)
Saturday 4 April, France v Scotland under-19, Dourdan, (kick-off tbc)

Scotland under-18 6 Nations Festival preparation fixtures
Sunday 22 March – England under-18 v Scotland under-18, Kingston Park, Newcastle (kick-off 2pm)
Sunday 29 March – Scotland under-18 v The Boys Club of Wales, Bridgehaugh (kick-off tbc)
Sunday 5 April – Leicester Academy v Scotland under-18, Leicester (kick-off 12 noon)

Scotland under-18 6 Nations Festival
Tournament takes place from 9 – 19 April, fixtures tbc

Scotland under-17
Tuesday 7 April – England A v Scotland under-17, Millfield Festival, Somerset (kick-off 7pm)
Thursday 9 April – Scotland under-17 v Belgium, Millfield Festival (kick-off, 11.45am)
Sunday 12 April – Scotland under-17 v Wales A, Millfield Festival, (kick-off, 9.30am)

Scotland club international
Friday 13 March – Club International v Ireland, Myreside (kick-off, tbc)

Admission to all Scotland Women, A, and age-grade fixtures are free