Alex Stewart's Scotland debut: 'She is a special rugby player, she plays with a lot of heart'

Minutes after full-time at Cardiff Arms Park last Saturday, Alex Stewart’s mum Kirsty gave her daughter the biggest of hugs and dad Breck had lost his voice from cheering so much.

While the wider Scotland squad and supporters who were in the Welsh capital were celebrating a record-breaking seventh Test win on the spin and a first victory in that city for 20 years, the Stewart family were having their own little celebration.

Rightly so because Alex, the 19-year-old back-row, had just made her full international debut in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations and had certainly not looked out of place.

In fact, the Corstorphine Cougars and Edinburgh Rugby openside had excelled and had fully justified head coach Bryan Easson’s selection of her for such a big game.

“Alex was excellent, you just wouldn’t think she has only been around the squad for four weeks,” Easson said.

“Genuinely she played well above the levels that she has done before, but they are the levels that we know she can get to, she really was excellent and she has a big future.”

Stewart made 17 successful tackles during the match, topped the stats by arriving at 27 attacking breakdowns and made more ruck cleanouts than anyone else with 10.

Those figures left assistant coach Tyrone Holmes, a combative back-row himself back in the day who earned one Scotland men’s cap, a happy man.

“Alex was unreal versus Wales,” he stated.

“It is not often you get someone in their first cap and in such a big game like that stepping up. She is a special rugby player, she is coachable, she is great around the group and she plays with a lot of heart.

“She has a big future ahead of her.”

Stewart certainly does have a big future, but right now she is still trying to process the last few weeks and what happened last Saturday.

“It’s still sinking in, I’ll be honest,” admitted the Edinburgh University law student, who came through the ranks at Liberton High School, Lismore and Edinburgh Harlequins and impressed recently as vice-captain of Edinburgh in the Celtic Challenge.

“There’s so much competition in the back row. Towards the end of the Celtic Challenge, I thought I’d be in with a good shout of being in the wider Scotland training squad, but I didn’t know I was going to start against Wales, I didn’t expect that, so that was a nice surprise.

“When I heard that I was starting early last week I was excited, but definitely the next day in training I was more nervous as I began to think about it all.

“We then had four days in Cardiff, so it was nice. We got a day off on the Thursday and we got to go and see a bit of the town and it helped me to settle down ahead of the match.

“I had to take a moment around the national anthems. I’m generally quite calm before a game, but there were definitely more nerves this time as to be expected.

“I really didn’t know what to expect when the game came, but it was definitely a step up.

"Playing in the Celtic Challenge and with the Scottish Futures previously has prepared me quite well for the level, but the speed was definitely faster.

“Playing against Irish and Welsh teams in the Celtic Challenge was really useful, but the physicality here had also been stepped up.

“During the first few phases I had to take a bit of time to get used to the speed and physicality, but I settled in pretty well.”

Stewart’s defining moment of a promising debut came in the 49th minute when she flew up on Wales and helped to generate a turnover from which No.8 Evie Gallagher then set up an attack which eventually saw winger Rhona Lloyd score the visiting team’s second try.

On the downside, with Scotland leading 20-13 and with Wales knocking on the door in the closing stages, Stewart was yellow-carded and then back-row Alex Callender’s try for Wales was given after a TMO check.

Lleucu George, the stand-off, could not convert though and Scotland held on for a famous 20-18 win.

“It was disappointing [to get yellow carded],” Stewart reflected about that blip.

“The penalty count was a bit high, but it didn’t stop me enjoying the whole experience.

“Overall, it was really exciting and I was really happy with my own - and the team’s - performance.

“People had to tell me about the history and how big a win this was for us. It was hard to grasp that at first, but I definitely understand the run of wins we are on and the importance of this moment.

“Saturday was special to be a part of.

“After the game, we had my cap presentation and it was just amazing. My mum and dad got to come into the changing rooms, it was really special and so nice for them to be there.”

Stewart is Scotland cap number 236 and it was presented to her by captain Rachel Malcolm who, with the other players, staff and proud parents watching on, said: “Scotland won in Wales in 2004 [30-10 at the Arms Park on February 14], but I am pretty sure something else cool happened in 2004 too - the birth of a very special rugby player [Stewart was born on May 28].

“I just want to say I think you have been phenomenal, you have been in with the group now for four weeks and you’d think you had been here four years.

“You have shown maturity well beyond your - very small! - years and you were outstanding in the match.

“You could not tell that you had not played at this level before, you were everywhere on the pitch and it is an honour to present you with the first cap of which I am sure will be very many.”

Quite a debut then and memories to last a lifetime - what did parents Kirsty and Breck make of it all?

“As soon as Alex made her first tackle our nerves dissipated and we were able to watch the rest of the game with a rising recognition that all her hard work was paying off - she looked every bit the internationalist,” Breck said once he had got his voice back.

“We are so very proud of her.”

Stewart will hope to earn her first home cap this coming weekend against France at Hive Stadium in round two of the Six Nations - and her dad might not be the only one who loses their voice cheering Scotland’s newest young gun on going forward.