'Huge future' predicted as Ramsay handed first Scotland start

Hannah Ramsay has impressed Scotland's coaches during training

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson has predicted "a huge future" for Hannah Ramsay after handing the 21-year-old a first Scotland start against Ireland on Saturday.

It comes after the Edinburgh and Edinburgh University fly-half was among second-half replacements who inspired a stirring comeback in last week's defeat by Italy.

Easson said Ramsay showed she belonged from the moments she collected a high punt straight from the restart as she earned her first cap.

"We have seen an awful lot in her in terms of her huge potential," he said as he prepares to make his final squad selection for next month's Women's Rugby World Cup. "She's got a huge future ahead of her.

"As a person, she's fitted in really well. She's very coachable, understands what she needs to do to get better - really good, high-performance behaviours.

"As a rugby player, I thought she showed real maturity in her first cap last week. That just shows the mark of the person, the mark of the player.

"The way she has controlled training, controlled us an attacking team as well as a defensive team has shown maturity beyond her years."

Alex Stewart also starts on Saturday in Scotland's final Women's World Cup warm-up game, and Easson praised the 21-year-old flanker for the way she has handled being diagnosed last month with both type one diabetes and coeliac disease.

Stewart had a hypoglycemic episode immediately before last week's defeat by Italy but was still able to be one of the second-half replacements.

"She is obviously being well looked after," Easson said of the Edinburgh Rugby/Corstorphine Cougars forward. "I can't speak highly enough of her medical department.

"She knows how to deal with it. She knows how to cope and they've got everything in place and I think she's just taken it in her stride.

"I think in the Six Nations, it was just diagnosed and it was very difficult for her, but in that short space of time she's managed to cope with the adversity of, one, that diagnosis and, two, to understand what that means for a high-performing athlete."