Emily Love got a taste of Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership glory last year with Corstorphine Cougars – and now she is looking to repeat that success with Watsonians.
The Scotland under-20 cap, 19, finished her university exams for the term this week, but expects another stern examination this Saturday on the rugby pitch when the Edinburgh club travel to Brigehaugh to face Stirling County in the Premiership final.
Looking back on lifting the title with the Cougars last year when they beat County in the final at Union Park, Love said: “It was amazing, especially as it was my first year of senior rugby.
The team worked so hard, knew each other well and we had great coaches in Eric Jones and Gav Paul. I learned so much in that season.
“Training with Scotland under-20s and then travelling to Wales for the age-grade summer tournament was fantastic. I renewed some friendships there and also made some great new friends – that’s one of the great things about rugby, meeting people who become great friends.
“Head coach Louise Dalgliesh and the other coaches worked really hard with us and we had some great moments on the pitch against more experienced opposition. Playing at under-20 level certainly fired my ambition to keep improving and getting as far as I can in the game.”
In the Premiership final last year, Love played on the wing, but while she was with Edinburgh Rugby last year during the Celtic Challenge campaign – a competition she will be part of again this year – head coach Claire Cruikshank asked her to try out scrum-half.
“I had played at 10 back at under-16 level, but was always in the back three since moving into senior rugby,” she explained.
“So, I thought about it and decided my skillset could work at nine and ‘why not’!
“Shanks [Cruikshank] arranged some great position specific coaching with Stevie Leckie who helped me develop my pass and other aspects of my game at nine and I haven’t looked back since. I had some exposure at nine with the 20s in the summer, but knew I needed to get more game experience there if I was going to develop. So, going into the 2025/26 season the issue I had was playing nine at club level.
“Cougars already had a great scrum half and, if I wanted experience in the position, I knew I would have to consider making a move. Anyway, I spoke with [Watsonians captain] Rachel Law, met head coach Bruce Millar and decided to join Watsonians at the start of this season.
“It was a tough decision given the great journey I had with Cougars but the team and coaches were incredibly welcoming and I immediately felt a part of the family. I was given the opportunity to play nine and have really enjoyed this season, have learned so much and have made more great friends. The squad and coaches really support each other, encourage and always want to be their best.
“We have worked hard as a team to gel together, identifying areas of our game that could be better and improving on them each week. Having consistency in games, not hampered by weather, has been good for us and allowed us to keep moving forward learning from game to game. It’s been hard work, but very rewarding.
“And with the experience of Sarah Law and Claire Bain in the coaching team have been able to develop my own game at nine which I am incredibly grateful for.
“The work ethic in training and on the pitch has been great and the fact we are a close team off the pitch, definitely helps our game on the pitch.
“In terms of the final, like we have done all season, we will continue to build on our last game, look at the small fixes we can make and show up on Saturday with a good energy to give Stirling a competitive game.”
Love’s rugby journey started when she was about 10 at Melrose.
She said: “At under-14 level I moved to East Lothian Girls Rugby as Melrose didn’t have a set up for older girls and played there until under-16s. When I reached under-18 level I had to move again to Edinburgh Harlequins where I played in an under-18 league.
“I then had about 12 months away from rugby due to injury. When I recovered and was almost 18, Eric Jones asked me to go to Cougars where my Premiership journey began. Eric and the girls at Cougars were amazing, encouraging and helping me into senior rugby and now I am glad to be continuing to enjoy things with Watsonians.”
Emily Love is pictured – thanks to N50 Photography
From November 14 to December 14, GH Media will be featuring on all aspects of women’s rugby in Scotland including the exciting conclusion to the domestic Premiership, news on Scots playing down south and lots more during a busy month.