The new women’s Arnold Clark National League gets underway on Sunday and three of the six clubs involved – Highland, West of Scotland and Wigtownshire – are looking forward to it.
The National League has been brought in this term to sit in between the Premiership and the regional league and the winners of the league will have the opportunity to go up to the Premiership for 2027/28 so it is an exciting competition.
Highland were the Caledonia North One champions in 2025/26 and this year Mhairi Docherty and Elle Briggs are the co-captains of the side from Inverness.
Docherty said: “It’s exciting that Scottish Rugby have listened to the women’s rugby community’s cries for a National League to be brough in to bridge the jump from regional to the Premiership
“We are looking forward to getting going as a team and I am excited to team up with Elle as co-captains.
“Elle and I became friends through rugby and there’s no bigger honour than being asked to lead a team with one of your best friends.
“We are very different people and different players so will bring different aspects to the team and we will bounce off each other well.”
West of Scotland finished second in West One in 2025/26 and their captain Jade Scott said: “The National League is exactly what women’s rugby in Scotland needs.
It’s going to be great to test ourselves against teams we haven’t had the opportunity to play as regularly, particularly Dundee and Highland. We’ve seen how well they performed last season, so we’re looking forward to the challenge and to competing at this level.
“The team has worked incredibly hard throughout pre-season and I’m really looking forward to seeing all of that work come together as the season progresses. We’ve continued to grow and develop as a group and, with the addition of some exciting new players, there’s a real sense that we’re only going to keep building.
“We’re looking forward to the season ahead, challenging ourselves, seeing what we can achieve together and, as captain, I’m really looking forward to leading the team into this new chapter.”
Wigtownshire finished top in West One before the summer break after they won nine, lost one and drew two league games out of 12.
They scored 385 points in those dozen matches and, when the title was wrapped up last December, the club posted on Facebook: “Today our ladies played their final league game with everything on the line, a title decider that would crown champions or settle for a close second.
“They left absolutely everything out there, battling through the pouring rain and coming away with a dominant 36–0 win [versus Hills’ second team], securing five points and taking us to the top of the league with 50 points!
“This is a historic moment, the first league title ever won in ‘Shire ladies history. What a journey it has been, especially after lifting the Shield at Murrayfield only eight months ago.
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us over the past decade, from the beginnings in the National Development League to where we stand now.
“A massive thank you as well to all of our team and player sponsors, coaches and supporters, we truly could not have done this without you.”
Now head coach Allan McMaster and co are excited for their new National League challenge.
The fixtures are here.
The three clubs featured are pictured
It is shaping up to be an exciting 2026/27 season for women’s rugby in Scotland and GH Media will be covering it in detail – if any companies are keen to support this content please send an email to gary@gh-media.co.uk