Rachel Malcolm

Rachel Ann Malcolm is a Scottish professional rugby player for Loughborough Lightning in the Allianz Premier 15s and Scotland Women. She plays predominantly as a Openside Flanker, however is also at home across the back row. She captained Scotland for the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship but was forced to step down due to a knee injury in the team's opening game. Club career Malcolm started playing rugby in 2015 with Lichfield Ladies. Her debut followed a game of touch-rugby in Nottingham, where a player for Lichfield Ladies spotted her talent. She was selected as captain of Loughborough Lightning for the inaugural season of England's premier club competition, Premier 15s, in 2017/18 and has continued to play for the side. International career After making her Scotland debut as a replacement in Scotland's first Women's Rugby World Cup Qualifier against Spain at Scotstoun Stadium in November 2016, Malcolm's first start came in the 2017 Women's Six Nations opener against Ireland at Broadwood Stadium. During this game, she sustained an injury that meant that she missed the rest of the campaign. She has also started for Scotland at Hooker – on her starting debut in 2017 and against Japan at Scotstoun in the Autumn Test in November 2019. She was part of the Scottish team that beat Ireland in March 2018, for the first time since the two teams first played each other. It was her penalty that saw them move 3–0 at half-time, with a final score of 15–12 to Scotland.