Scotland scrum-half Jenny Maxwell will play her first game in 20 months tomorrow when she turns out for Edinburgh against Glasgow at Murrayfield. The match - the first outing for both of the newly-formed women’s teams - is their opening fixture in this season’s Celtic Challenge tournament, which also features two sides from Ireland and two from Wales.
Maxwell, now 31, sustained a serious knee injury just minutes after coming off the bench against Italy in the 2022 Six Nations. She has been released by her club, Loughborough Lightning, to play for the capital club as she completes her recovery.
Two members of the Scotland squad that won the recent WXV2 tournament in South Africa - centre Emma Orr and lock Fiona McIntosh - are also in the starting line-up for the home team. Louise McMillan, another key member of that squad, lines up at lock for Glasgow, while her international team-mate Mairi McDonald is on the bench.
Irish teams Wolfhounds and Clovers got their campaigns under way when they met yesterday at Musgrave Park in Cork. [4pm kick-off if you want to insert the result later] The two Welsh sides, Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning, will complete the first round when they meet on New Year’s Day at Rodney Parade in Newport.
Edinburgh (v Glasgow Warriors at Hive Stadium, tomorrow noon): N Marlow; H Walker, E Orr, B McNamara, C Bell; S Denholm (captain), J Maxwell; P Fletcher, N Haynes, K Lindsay, F McIntosh, N Logan, G Bell, A Stewart, M Gunderson. Subs: M Whitehouse, P Muzambe, M Poolman, A Ferrie, F Walker, L Brebner-Holden, H Ramsay, R Philipps.
Glasgow Warriors: I McGuire-Evans; S Phimister, C McLaren, L MacRae, R Fraser; C Ainsworth, R Clarke (co-captain); A Tucker, N Simpson, E Fleming, E Turner (co-captain), L McMillan, H Bogan, I Hannay, L Winter. Subs: K Craig, F Fraser, D Lee, S Anderson, E Thomson, M McDonald, C McDonald, P Kellie.
