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• This is the third meeting between the sides at a World Cup with Scotland hunting a first win. Wales took the spoils 8-0 in the quarter-finals in 1994 and edged it 18-15 in the group stages three years ago,
• Scotland have taken part in a seventh World Cup and their best effort was in 1994 when they finished fifth by beating Canada in the final of the Shield on home soil.
• The only edition that Wales have missed was 2006. The best effort was in 1994 when beaten in the semi-finals by the United States.

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Scotland have pledged to put uncertainty about player contracts to the back of their minds during the World Cup.

Disagreements between the squad and Scottish Rugby have played out publicly, with Scotland wing Rhona Lloyd claiming over half the 32-player squad will be left without deals after the tournament.

The row has overshadowed the build-up but full-back Chloe Rollie insists it won’t impact their performance.

"I think we've had all those discussions that we needed to have about contracts," Rollie said.

"As soon as we got here it's not been something we spoke about, we've kind of taken it on our heads and just decided that's done, that's it.

"We're here now to focus on a World Cup. It's the biggest part of our careers so far and some girls' first World Cup, some girls' maybe last World Cup.

"There's so many variables around it that we just need to leave it and just get on with what we're here to do now.”

The format has changed for 2025 and it's more simple with two teams from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals.

The winner of today's clash would be in pole position to join Canada in the knockout stages if everything else goes to form.

The dubious prize for finishing second in Pool B is a likely encounter with England, who are desperate to lift the trophy on home soil.

Pool A: England, Australia, United States, Samoa

Pool B: Canada, Scotland, Wales, Fiji

Pool C: New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain

Pool D: France, Italy, South Africa, Brazil

The quarter-finals are on 13 and 14 September in Exeter and Bristol and the semi-finals are on 19 and 20 September in Bristol.

The third-place play-off and the World Cup final both take place on Saturday, 27 September at Twickenham, with the big event kicking off at 16:00 BST.

Wales co-captains Kate Williams and Alex Callender take on our 'Best Friends Forever' quiz before the start of the Women's Rugby World Cup.

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Alex Stewart will aim to make a big impact off the bench this afternoon.

The Scotland back-row believes she is getting back to her best after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease.

"It took a couple of months of real tiredness and feeling really lethargic going to training, not feeling myself, kind of low moods and things like that, which kind of edged me to speak to the doctors a bit more," Stewart told the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

"I was losing a lot of weight as well, which is obviously due to the diabetes.

"One blood test can tell you a whole lot and a whole lot that I didn't really expect to come back from it. I thought I was maybe a bit deficient in iron or something like that, but no, it was a massive shock."

The 21-year-old could be a key figure if, as expected, it's a tight game that goes to the wire.

She said: "I'm getting back to myself, getting a bit more colour and training well. So definitely feeling more like the Alex Stewart that I was a year ago.

"I'm happy where I am going into this World Cup and I'm happy that I'm feeling a lot stronger and physically fit."

Hosts England got this tournament off to stunning start - scoring 11 tries in an emphatic 69-7 victory over USA in the opening game of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in front of a record crowd of 42,723 in Sunderland.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

There were concerns over Alex Callender after she was forced off in Wales’ second Test defeat in Australia last month.

She is fit to be co-captain along with Kate Williams with Sean Lynn naming the XV that stunned the Wallaroos in the first Test in Brisbane.

Lleucu George, whose kicking out of hand was vital in the win against the Aussies, gets the nod at fly-half while wing Lisa Neumann earns her 50th cap.

There is power on the bench from hooker Carys Phillips, who is taking part in her fourth World Cup, and tight-head prop Sisilia Tuipulotu.

Wales: Nel Metcalfe; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Dallavalle, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Donna Rose, Alaw Pyrs, Gwen Crabb, Kate Williams (co-captain), Bethan Lewis, Alex Callender (co-captain).

Replacements: Carys Phillips, Maisie Davies, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Seren Lockwood, Kayleigh Powell, Carys Cox.

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Scotland are boosted by their most-capped player Lana Skeldon being given the green light to start after suffering an ankle injury in the final warm-up match against Ireland.

The hooker is joined in the tight five by lock Sarah Bonar with Rachel Malcolm captaining the side from blindside flanker.

Scrum-half Leia Brebner-Holden makes her World Cup debut and will look to control the tempo along with fly-half Helen Nelson.

Centres Lisa Thomson and Emma Orr form a strong partnership with Chloe Rollie, Rhona Lloyd and Francesca McGhie in the back three.

Scotland: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Francesca McGhie; Helen Nelson, Leia Brebner-Holden; Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon,Elliann Clarke, Emma Wassell, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (captain), Rachel McLachlan, Evie Gallagher

Replacements: Elis Martin, Molly Wright, Lisa Cockburn, Jade Konkel, Eva Donaldson, Alex Stewart, Caity Mattinson, Beth Blacklock.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of a huge opening match in Pool B as Wales and Scotland clash in Salford.

There is no margin for error because Canada, who are ranked second in the world, are also in the group and go up against Fiji later.

Remember, the top two progress to the quarter-finals so arguably this could be a shoot-out between Six Nations rivals on opening weekend.

The tournament kicked off last night with England cruising to a win against the United States but this promises to be a lot tighter.

The sides head into this fixture after some testing times with Scotland in the middle of a contract dispute with Scottish Rugby while Wales, although they stunned Australia last month, have finished bottom of the last two Six Nations championships.

That's in the past, this should be a cracker so settle in and follow events with us right here.

Let's take a look at the teams.