Munlochy rugby star helps Scotland to victory in Six Nations
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Jade Konkel-Roberts returned from injury to help Scotland to their first Women’s Six Nations victory in years.
The 29-year-old from Munlochy had been named in the Scotland squad by head coach Bryan Easson despite undergoing surgery in February, and returned for her first appearance in the competition last weekend against Italy.
Having made history as the first ever female player to be awarded a professional contract in 2016, Konkel-Roberts led the way again with a player of the match performance to help the Scots to a 29-21 victory at the Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
Lana Skeldon and Leah Bartlett had scored two tries each after Louise McMillan’s opener, with Helen Nelson – who was born in Inverness – kicking two conversions out of five.
Scotland had already lost heavily to tournament favourites England and France, while coming much closer to a result against Wales.
In fact, their last Women’s Six Nations win came in April 2021 in the fifth and sixth-place play-off against Wales.
The excitement – and possibly relief – then at finally getting another win on the board was palpable.
“It just feels so surreal, I can’t quite believe it yet,” Konkel-Roberts said after the full time whistle was blown.
“What a shift from our team, it was absolutely incredible. We prepped really strongly this week and we just had belief. Everyone showed that out there today.
“We wouldn’t be Scottish if it was simple! Italy are always so difficult to play against, they’re physical and they play an off-load game.
“They came at us hard and made us play for the full 8-0 minutes, but I cannot be any prouder of our team.
“We fought and we fought, and I think it’s our time.
“Massive thank you to the fans for coming out, it would not have been the same without them. The noise was just incredible.”
