Warriors Women scrum-half Caity Mattinson is set to make her Scotland debut in the forthcoming Rugby World Cup Qualification Tournament in Dubai.
Mattinson is one of four Warriors players in Scotland’s 30-strong squad alongside lock Lyndsay O’Donnell, hooker Lana Skeldon and loosehead prop Lisa Cockburn.
Mattinson is also one of three players uncapped by Scotland named in the squad but she has already been capped seven times at international level by England.
Inverness-born Mattinson has now qualified to play for Scotland through World Rugby’s new eligibility rule that came into effect at the start of the year.
Scotland go into the tournament seeking to secure the last remaining spot at this year’s tournament in New Zealand.
As the top ranked team, Scotland will face the winner of Kazakhstan v Colombia in the final match of the tournament on Friday February 25 (kick-off 3.00pm GMT).
In addition to Mattinson, Scotland Head Coach Bryan Easson has named the uncapped University of Edinburgh duo Meryl Smith and Eva Donaldson in the squad.
“We’ve have been encouraged by the performances the squad have produced over the past few months so we haven’t made too many changes to our preparations,” Easson said.
“The ability to select a 30-player squad has been a real positive for us, as we can keep working with the group that featured in the qualifiers in Parma, while also introducing some new players to the squad.
“It’s also great to have Caity Mattinson join the programme as well. As she hasn’t played for England within the past three years, she is eligible to join Scotland through World Rugby’s recent rule amendment. Caity has been really keen to return to international rugby and play for Scotland so it will be great to see her involved with the group.”
It has also been confirmed that Gordon Henderson will join Easson’s backroom staff as Assistant Coach, with Ross Miller returning to his role within the FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy.