It has been a very busy and exciting time for girls’ and women’s rugby at Dumfries Saints recently.
At the end of March, the club’s under-15 and under-18 teams were on their travels to take part in the Portugal Youth Rugby Festival.
And then, on April 11 at the club’s home ground at Park Farm, they were delighted to host the first ever Issy Rainey Cup.
Named after Dumfries Saints first ever female president, the club were honoured that Issy accepted the invitation to have the silverware named after her.
The Issy Rainey Cup is a women’s 10s tournament and the day of rugby – accompanied by a BBQ, bar and music – was played out this time around by Dumfries, East Kilbride and Banbridge from Northern Ireland.
In the end, the visitors from Northern Ireland came out on top and Dumfries said on social media: “Congratulations to Banbridge RFC women’s team, who were crowned winners of the first ever Issy Rainey Cup.
“Banbridge travelled over from Northern Ireland to compete against our women’s team and East Kilbride and it was a pleasure hosting both teams and we hope to see them again next year.
“This is what the Issy Rainey Cup is all about, bringing women together to play the beautiful game that is rugby.
“We are very grateful that Issy accepted the cup being named after her and that she came to spend the day with us at Park Farm and handed over the trophy to the winning captain.
“On behalf of everyone at Dumfries Saints, thank you to Dawn Kuehnel – our fixtures secretary and huge support of the women’s team – for finalising the plans for the event. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
- Over 25,000 tickets have been sold for Scotland-England, join in the fun by getting tickets here – before the senior game at 1.30pm at Murrayfield the under-21 sides from both countries are meeting at Hive Stadium at 11am.
The three teams involved in the inaugural Issy Rainey Cup are pictured as are the Dumfries youth teams that went to Portugal – thanks to the club
The Women’s Six Nations is here and the 2026 event runs from April 11 to May 17 and, between April 6 and May 20, GH Media will be covering Scotland’s campaign and the wider tournament – keep an eye out for content and thanks to everyone who supports GH Media’s work within women’s rugby