GROUNDBREAKING! Scotland Women move to 'iconic pitch'
It is an incredible moment for the Scotland Women’s team as they will play their first standalone international at Murrayfield when they take on England in the 2026 Six Nations.
The match is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, in front of spectators in the main stadium, which has a capacity of 67,000.
Scotland Women have played in the main Murrayfield bowl on two previous occasions.
The first in 2002, a double header where the team, which included Scotland’s highest capped player, Donna Kennedy, faced Sweden. The second occasion was on a snowy Monday afternoon in front of a few guests when Scotland played England in the 2020 Women’s Six Nations, following a rescheduling thanks to storm Ciara from the day before.
Speaking on the announcement, captain Rachel Malcolm said: “We are incredibly excited to play this match at Murrayfield.
“We have all dreamed that one day our fan base would grow to the point where we would have the opportunity to run out, cheered on by our supporters, on this iconic pitch
“We always talk about leaving the shirt in a better place, and the fact that young girls playing in the National Youth Cup Finals can now look around and think, ‘One day, I want to run out here for Scotland Women,’ is so special. It shows how far we have come and how many ways we can inspire the next generation.
“There have been some incredible trailblazers before us, and right now it’s our turn to make moves and keep pushing things forward with Scottish Rugby.”
Edinburgh Stadium has been the home to Scotland Women since 2021.
In that time, their fanbase has expanded, and in 2024 they reached a capacity crowd of 7,774 against England, marking a record attendance for the women’s national team.
Scottish Rugby Chief Executive, Alex Williamson, said: “This is such an exciting time for the growth of women’s rugby.
“With the Rugby World Cup on our doorstep, records are already being broken months in advance. We want to celebrate that momentum by elevating the Scotland Women’s international experience for both players and fans.
“This is why we are ‘Making Moves’ by bringing the biggest game of the 2026 season to Murrayfield.
“To celebrate the women’s game in Scotland, and as part of the stadium’s 100th anniversary celebrations, we’re inviting rugby fans from all over the world to come and watch our national team play in what we hope will be the largest ever crowd for a Scottish women’s sporting event.”
Head of Women and Girls’ Strategy, Gemma Fay, added: “We launched our Women & Girls strategy in 2022. By 2024 we had already achieved our target of 7,000 fans when we played England in a sold-out Edinburgh Stadium. Our next target had to be a new record crowd, and that has to be in Murrayfield.
“The growth in fans, combined with the increase in girls and women’s participation to over 9,000, we know that now is the time to make the move with our women’s national team.
“We are extremely excited that moving forward, we are able to provide fans and players alike the opportunity to experience match days in either Edinburgh or Murrayfield and, of course, that first match in the main bowl had to be England in the Women’s Six Nations.”
