Francesca McGhie challenges Tigers to build on 'great win'

Francesca McGhie’s rugby career has taken off in a similar fashion to her playing style: with lightning speed.

Since signing for Leicester Tigers in 2023, McGhie has proven herself to be one of the most exciting prospects in world rugby.

The 21-year-old’s move to the East Midlands coincided with the Tigers’ first year in the PWR and she hailed the club for helping her progress so quickly.

“Moving to Tigers was one of the best decisions I've ever made,” she said.

“My development has skyrocketed in terms of my skills, my game knowledge and just being a professional. It's a wonderful place to be.

“We’ve faced some competitive teams who have had a lot longer to build their programme and that's definitely what we want to do.

“Some of our results haven't been the way that we wanted and we're really looking to get that bonus point.

“We’ve changed some of our attacking set-up so going into the second half of the season, that's going to be great for us to go after.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Leicester Tigers Women's (@tigerswomens)

Tigers recently reached a double figure points tally in the league after they registered a 38-17 victory over Sale Sharks, just their second win of the season.

For McGhie, it marks an important milestone in the club’s development and a springboard to build even better results.

“It was great to get that win,” she said. “We were so excited coming into last week and we knew that we could do it, we just needed to perform like we did.

“Just to see 11 points on the board, it's great and it's definitely where we wanted to be.

“We want to leave something that people want to join and want to be a part of and I think this season we're definitely getting there.”

McGhie’s rapid rise has not been confined to the world of domestic rugby. Just months prior to signing for Tigers, she made her Scotland debut at only 19 years old.

Her appearance in her country’s 2023 Women’s Six Nations opener against England was made all the more remarkable by the fact she had only started playing rugby five years before.

“It was incredible to play for my country at 19,” said McGhie, who was a dancer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before choosing rugby.

“I hadn't been playing rugby for long and I probably didn't know how to play rugby very well but I've certainly learned from it.

“That's something that I'll never forget, running on for my first cap. I don't think I'll ever get over it.”

When your first @Scotlandteam try is this good...

Hats off, Francesca McGhie 🎩#SCOIRE #SuperSaturday⚡️ pic.twitter.com/yMJxPwGk3f

— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 29, 2023

Since then, the accolades have come flooding in. McGhie was part of the Scotland squad to win the inaugural WXV2 title and came close to a title defence as The Thistles were narrowly defeated by Australia in the 2024 final.

She was also nominated for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2023, and had a statue erected in Edinburgh to mark her trailblazer status.

“My parents wanted it for their back garden,” she laughed. “I do have to pinch myself that I did get nominated and that I do have a statue of myself, it's not something that many people can say.

“I'm really proud of myself for what I've done over the last year and where I've come.

“Not many of the girls in the Scotland squad can say that they've won more games in the Scotland shirt than they've lost but fortunately I am one of those players.

“The girls coming before me have built such a great platform and really carved a path for where we want to go.”

That path could be taking a direct route towards even loftier heights as 2025 offers plenty of opportunities for Scotland and McGhie.

Their Six Nations opener against Wales could offer the perfect trial run for the Women’s World Cup in England, where they’ll face the Dragons in their first match of the group stage.

“The World Cup is practically in our back garden, so we can have all our travelling fans,” said McGhie.

“I'm going to work really hard to get there and I think a lot of the other girls are doing the same, so it's going to be really competitive but that's what drives a good team.”