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Scotland's Demi Swann hoping for successful Italian job
Demi Swann knows a successful Italian job is crucial if Scotland are to hit their target of finishing third in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
Scotland head to Parma to take on Le Azzurre on Saturday afternoon looking to find a response after the 84-7 humbling at the hands of world champions England at Murrayfield in Round 2.
The Ontario-born front row, who made her international debut in the previous weekend’s win over Wales in Cardiff, knows her side need to bounce back against Le Azzurre if they are to achieve a first top half finish since 2005.
Having lost 25-17 at home to Italy in 2025, Swann is under no illusions as to the importance of this weekend’s match.
She said: “Italy will definitely be targeting us as much as we'll be targeting them, and so we will have to respect them in that sense.
“But in truth, we just really want to focus on ourselves this week and how we can really hone in on our identity, get key takeaways from England and learn and grow from it.
“Finishing third is exactly what our goal is, so beating Italy is vital as it would then give us that momentum going into the fallow week.”
The scoreline against the Red Roses may have been difficult to swallow but Swann is keen to emphasise there was a bigger picture at play.
The 30,498-strong crowd represented the largest for a standalone women’s sport event ever in Scotland and included those who had travelled from far and wide to be part of it.
She said: “That whole experience was incredible, and it also meant so much to me that my parents could make it as well. My dad flew over from Canada and made the big trip.
“They're two of my biggest fans, and it was so nice to see they made custom t-shirts with my name and everything on them.
“It was absolutely amazing. It was just so cool to be part of a historic day for women in sport, as well as just Scottish women's rugby as a whole.
“I think that the momentum that just women's rugby as a whole is getting after the World Cup is honestly incredible. It's moving in the right direction for sure, and on the back of the game at Murrayfield we can see how well Scotland women’s rugby is doing.”
Swann’s introduction to the Scotland squad is among several changes following their 2025 World Cup campaign, when they made the quarter-finals under Bryan Easson.
Though Swann had been around the group previously, having travelled to WXV in South Africa without receiving any game time in 2023, new head coach Sione Fukofuka gave the prop her first cap after two years waiting in the wings.
Swann said: “Sione has been incredible. He has probably felt overwhelmed and had to take in a lot of new information with new staff and team members.
“That is quite stressful, but honestly, he's been great. He's just been a calm head. Maybe it's just me, but I feel there's a little bit of intimidation there because you just want to play well and to do good by him as well.
“He pushes people to focus on their skills and be your best version of yourself. He expects everyone to earn their place and work hard.”
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