Netherlands coach Gilbert bids farewell after 15 years before South Africa move

Gareth Gilbert will coach the Netherlands women’s team at home for the last time on Saturday when the Dames XV host Scotland A in Amsterdam, marking the beginning of the end of his 15-year association with Rugby Nederland.

Gilbert will continue to lead the side through WXV Global Series Challenger fixtures in Hong Kong against Samoa, Brazil and Fiji before departing to take up the head coach role at Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa. His tenure has spanned the Netherlands Men, Women’s Sevens and Men’s Under-20s — a role he has held since 2022 — as well as the Dames XV, whom he guided to a second-place finish in the Rugby Europe Championship this year.

“I am eternally grateful to Rugby Netherlands for all the opportunities I’ve been given — as a player, a coach, and an administrator within the sport,” Gilbert said. “The fact that I now have the chance to take the next step in South Africa doesn’t change how much this country and this sport mean to me. The Netherlands will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Scotland A, led by National Academy Manager Claire Cruikshank, have named a squad drawn predominantly from the Central Programme and National Academy, with several players capped at age-grade level. Team captain Fiona McIntosh, Adelle Ferrie and Rianna Darroch are the most experienced members of the group, all having earned senior Test caps.

“This is going to be a really valuable opportunity for this group of players to experience what Test rugby is about,” Cruikshank said. “The game against the Netherlands will give the squad a real taste of the demands, intensity and physicality of international rugby, and that learning experience will be hugely important in their development and progression.”

For the Netherlands, Linde van der Velden captains a side that includes Puck van den Akker at fullback and Jet Metz at fly-half, while the replacements bench features a blend of experience and emerging talent. Scotland A’s starting XV sees Poppy Mellanby at fullback and Nicole Marlow wearing the ten shirt, with McIntosh anchoring the second row.