Hillhead Jordanhill and Watsonians are through to the Sarah Beaney Cup final at Murrayfield on April 19.
Going into Saturday’s final round of group stage games, these two clubs plus Corstorphine Cougars and Stirling County still had hopes of making it to the national stadium.
In the end, Hills and table toppers Watsonians both won their games to set up a repeat of last year’s final.
Hills progressed as group stage runners-up by getting the better of the Cougars 29-21 at Hughenden.
Frances Campbell, Beth Tobin (2), Rhonwyn Spence and Hannah Dunnett scored the tries in Hillhead Jordanhill’s win with Dunnett converting two.
Lisa Martin, Lauryn McGrotty and Filipa Holmes Fuentealba were the Cougars try scorers with Martin converting all three.
“It’s safe to say Hills love some drama,” Hillhead Jordanhill skipper Kate Yeomans said.
“The girls put in an unbelievable 80 minute shift, coming from 21-5 down at half-time to getting on top with just five minutes to play. Cougars has always been big for us in a cup run, usually a make or break game, and this was no exception.
“They put in a hard fight, making us work for everything. Seeing how the team came back from the first half adversity is a testament to the strength and belief that we have amongst the squad. As captain, I asked the girls to leave everything out on the pitch and I’m proud to say everyone in that squad gave their absolute all to bring us into the position to get into the final.”
Watsonians and County played out a match featuring 15 tries at Myreside with the hosts eventually coming out on top 55-40.
Julie Lyons, Kaeli King, Phaedra Snailham (3), Briar McNamara (3) and Lottie Russell scored the Watsonians tries with April McKenzie converting five of them.
Emily Norval (2), Ceitidh Ainsworth (2) and Brogan Henderson scored tries for County with a penalty try also awarded and Ainsworth converting four of the tries.
“We produced our best performance of the cup campaign in a match which was a brilliant advert for the game,” Watsonians head coach Bruce Millar said.
“Stirling always pose a huge attacking threat and we needed to score a lot of points to finish in front. We stayed calm after going 12-0 down in the opening quarter and once we found our shape we scored some excellent tries.
As holders, we’re excited to be in another cup final and will work hard over the next fortnight to make sure we’re ready for a good Hills team which pushed us very close at Myreside a couple of weeks ago in the group stage.”
On Sunday, the women’s Shield and Plate finalists were confirmed.
In the Shield, Greenock Wanderers and Wigtownshire will meet at Murrayfield after respective last four wins over Caithness Krakens and Ayr respectively, the former by 60-21 and the latter by 35-12.
And in the Plate, Garioch’s second XV beat Irvine 40-20 while Annan won 32-31 at Lenzie meaning the two victors will meet at the Hive.
The final of the fourth women’s competition, the Bowl, will be played this coming Sunday at the Murrayfield back pitches before the Scotland-Italy Guinness Women’s Six Nations clash. Dalkeith and Strathaven had already booked places there before this weekend.
- Lisa Cockburn, the 32-year-old prop with 32 caps, has been added to the Scotland squad that is preparing for Sunday’s Italy game.
Line up for the upcoming finals…
Women’s National Bowl final on April 13
Women’s Bowl: Dalkeith versus Strathaven, Murrayfield back pitches, 12pm
Silver Saturday line up on April 19
Men’s Bowl: Earlston versus Lochaber, Hive, 10am
Women’s Shield: Greenock Wanderers versus Wigtownshire, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, 10am
Men’s Shield: East Kilbride versus Lenzie, Hive, 12.45pm
Men’s National League Cup: Hillhead Jordanhill versus Gordonians, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, 12.45pm
Women’s Plate, Garioch 2nd XV versus Annan, Hive, 3.30pm
Scottish Cup: GHA versus Glasgow Accies, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, 3.30pm
Sarah Beaney Cup: Watsonians versus Hillhead Jordanhill, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, 6.30pm
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations runs from March 22 to April 26 and, next up, Scotland are at Hive Stadium in round three versus Italy on April 13 – get tickets for the two Scotland remaining home games here.
Hillhead Jordanhill and Watsonians are pictured, Hills is the main image
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