Scotland will play a first Women’s Six Nations match in front of fans at Scottish Gas Murrayfield next year when they host England.
Hive Stadium, where Edinburgh play in the shadow of Murrayfield, has been Scotland’s home for the last four seasons.
In 2024 the match against England there was sold out, attracting a record Scottish crowd of 7,774 to a women’s international.
Scottish Rugby chief executive Alex Williamson says the governing body wants to “celebrate” the “momentum” in the women’s game by giving the players a bigger stage.
“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,” Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm said.
“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.”
Scotland’s women have played at Murrayfield twice before. In 2002, they faced Sweden as a curtain-raiser to the men’s November Test against Fiji.
And in 2020 they played England behind closed doors after the game was rescheduled and moved from Scotstoun because of Storm Ciara.
The Test with England on 18 April next year will therefore be the first standalone women’s international at Murrayfield in front of fans and will be expected to break the record Scottish crowd.
