Scotland rugby's captain Helen Nelson has said head coach Philip Doyle made them go 'back to basics' to prepare for this Six Nations.

The Scots lost all five of their matches last year and so Doyle took steps to restore respect for the shirt they wear.

Nelson said: "We're really excited to go into the Six Nations. Head coach Phil Doyle has had a massive impact; he has shaken things up and made it clear nobody will have an easy ride.

"Everyone will have to work for their spot which has been good for us. We have gone back to basics with contact, passing and drilling and it has been great." 

Scotland's opening fixture is against Ireland and Nelson has said the side are hoping to build on the victory they had in their warm-up match against Spain.

"After the performance we put out against Spain, we're in a great place. The forwards provided some really good front ball and a win against a side ranked four places above us has given us a huge amount of confidence.

"We didn't play as well as we wanted to against Wales and Japan at Scotstoun. The team took a confidence dunt from that, but we stuck to our process against Spain.

"If you look at our summer tour of South Africa they weren't easy wins, then we scored six tries against Spain. We're playing exciting rugby. We've had a rocky journey but we are a young squad and we are developing and working really hard.

"Ireland are going to be physical, they always are, they have a good forward pack. If we go out and play the way we can it will be a very exciting game. I think we're closely matched."

Ireland vs Scotland kicks off today at 1pm and is available to watch on Sky Sports.