When up-and-coming loosehead prop Poppy Fletcher was sidelined for a large chunk of this season due to injury what kept her going was the thought of playing in big games once again.
And they don’t get much bigger than a Glasgow Warriors versus Edinburgh Rugby Scottish derby in the Celtic Challenge.
With just one round of the 10 regular season fixtures to go in the six-team event, Brython Thunder from Wales are in the fourth and final play-off spot on 19 points with Glasgow in fifth on 16 points.
The Warriors must beat bottom side Edinburgh at Scotstoun on Friday (7.30pm, live on BBC Scotland) and then hope that Brython lose to third placed Gwalia Lightning on Sunday if they are to make it into the semi-finals. Irish sides Wolfhounds and Clovers and Welsh side Gwalia are already safely into the play-offs.
“Sometimes when you go into a game there can be lots of different things in your mind, but this Friday we have one job and one job only,” 21-year-old former Scotland under-20 cap Fletcher said.
“We are not thinking about Brython and what they may or may not do on Sunday because that’s totally out of our control.
“All we are focusing on is getting a good win against Edinburgh and then other things will take care of themselves. In a way that clarity makes our focus even sharper, not that you need extra focus for a derby match right enough!
“I have loved working with this Glasgow squad this year and we don’t want things to be over just yet, we want to be part of the semi-finals and the final later this month if we can be.
“When we have been ‘on it’ we have really troubled teams this year, we perhaps just have not been consistent enough at times.
“We’ve taken a lot of confidence from our attack though and our defence in the past couple of games has definitely been stronger. As a result, we are feeling quite good coming into this Edinburgh game, but we know that they will really be up for this one too.
“Already around 1,100 tickets have been sold for the game and this season we have built up great connections with our supporters and we want to put on a show for them in our last home game.”
Fletcher, who is in her third year studying at Edinburgh University, was running water rather than playing the last time these two sides met at Hive Stadium in round two back on December 27.
Glasgow started that game well, but ultimately lost out 31-25 and that remains Edinburgh’s only win of a tough 2025/26 to date.
It was a tough start to 2025/26 for Fletcher herself as, off the back of the Six Nations Women’s Summer Series with the under-20s in Wales last summer, she had to deal with a thumb injury and when that cleared up she was then handed a quad tear and a concussion issue simultaneously.
“People say that bad things come in threes and with the thumb injury followed by the quad and the concussion issue it certainly seemed that way,” the player who came through the ranks with Dunbar and East Lothian girls and has also played for Heriot’s and Edinburgh University, said.
“Whenever you have a setback as a young player it is tough, but I knew that I could get back a few games into the Celtic Challenge and that was always my aim.
“I was in with the squad from the start of the programme and head coach Lindsey Smith and all the squad members made me feel welcome straight away. That helped me to get up to speed and back to match fitness and I have loved playing in the last few games, it has been so good to be on the pitch with the girls.”
Glasgow have won two games out of nine to date, but picking up a number of bonus points has kept them in the play-off mix.
And, talking of being in the mix, Fletcher, who is a ‘players on development support’ from Scottish Rugby this term, was part of new head coach Sione Fukofuka’s first Scotland wider squad camp a few weeks ago.
It is a new era for Scotland post last year’s Rugby World Cup and Fletcher – who is now in her fourth year of Celtic Challenge action having previously played for the Thistles and Edinburgh – is one of a number of uncapped players who will hope to be involved in the upcoming Women’s Guinness Six Nations.
For now though, as she said, she is only thinking about “one job” and that is securing a Glasgow win over Edinburgh.
Poppy Fletcher is pictured – thanks to Glasgow Warriors