Scottish season wrap

The Cup

The last cup round to feature National 2 sides, on November 16th, featured no upsets. Premiership relegation side Kirkcaldy made a statement ahead of their return to National 1 with a strong 31-5 win over Broughton, Stirling County underlined their strength despite a struggle in the top league with a similar 40-15 win away to up-and-coming side Stewartry. Aberdeenshire Quines ended Lismore’s hopes in Edinburgh as National 1 leaders Cartha Queens Park squeezed a win over challengers Ayr. The losing sides proceeded to the March Shield knock-outs, where Ayr flattened an outmatched Lismore team and Stewartry defeated Broughton at home.

In the Bowl National 1 sides Watsonians and Morgan convincingly beat National 2 clubs Glasgow University and Grangemouth, going on to beat the last of the National 2 teams left in the knock-outs in March, inflicting heavy defeats on Oban and Garioch to proceed to the final.

A couple of surprising quarter-final draws tied the top-four Premiership sides against one another in January. With the Premiership over it was a chance for RHC and Melrose to take the top-two out of contention but it was not to be. RHC fought Murrayfield Wanderers to a 10-10 tie at 60mins, only for Scotland fly-half Lisa Martin to swing the game with a solo kick-chase, leading her side to a 24-10 win on their home turf. Also at home, Hillhead-Jordanhill put on a dominant display against a hapless Melrose, winning 93-14. Elsewhere Cartha underlined their Premiership credentials by defeating Kirkcaldy as Stirling County held off a determined Aberdeenshire Quines away.

The semi-finals were a mismatched display, the top-two Premiership sides facing Stirling County and Cartha. Cartha put on the tougher performance but failed to score points in a 0-47 loss at home, with Murrayfield Wanderers putting on another statement display with a 81-0 demolition of County.

The knock-outs laid the path for a fantastic finals day alongside the men’s Cup, Shield and Bowl at Murrayfield Stadium. Out on the back pitches the Women’s Bowl and Shield played side-by-side with packed side-line support. After leading only 10-5 at half-time Watsonians put on a comprehensive second half display to wipe National 1 opponents Morgan away 54-5. Similarly Ayr and Stewartry drew close at half time, signalling their ambitions in next season’s promotion fight, before Stewartry’s sheer pace in the backs took them to a 36-17 win.

On the international pitch the top two Premiership sides faced one another again to decide who would win the Sarah Beaney Cup. Wandies tore to a 17-0 lead before half time, raising fears of a very one-sided match. However, Hillhead Jordanhill dug in and played to their strengths, piling pressure on the Wandies pack and keeping the ball close to chip away at the lead. The score went 17-17, then 17-22 to the Glasgow side and the sight of shared honours in sight. It was not to be however, as Murrayfield Wanderers brought the score up to 20-22 with a penalty. Scotland prop Lisa Robertson drove over in the final moments to give Wanderers the win on 25-22 and the dream of both Premiership and Cup victories.

Premiership

The Premiership came to a close in December, Murrayfield Wanderers doing the double with a hard-fought win over Hillhead Jordanhill at home followed by a surprisingly close match against Kirkcaldy away. With the title earned a game before the end of the league, they lifted the trophy and left the other sides to fight over the remaining positions. With both titles secured, Murrayfield Wanderers will be the team to beat next season, having lost only one game in 13 in 2014/15.

Kirkcaldy almost turned a shock win, welcoming a much-changed RHC side home, fighting the Edinburgh team to a 12-15 halftime score. RHC dug in with a top-three finish in sight and closed off the match 12-27 to relegate the home side. With the chance to overhaul Melrose on points difference lost, they went on to beat the Borders team 22-17 at home, a confidence-boosting win, but not enough to finish higher than fourth in the league.

Melrose held on to their top-three finish despite their loss with a previous comprehensive win against Stirling County, Hillhead Jordanhill earning a second-place finish despite their loss to Murrayfield Wanders with two dominant performances against Stirling Country after the holidays. Stirling County defeating relegation-bound Kirkcaldy 18-29 away.

Final table:Murrayfield Wanders 44pts;Hillhead Jordanhil 37pts;Melrose 31pts;RHC Cougars 27pts;Stirling County 10pts;Kirkcaldy 0pts

National 1

Cartha Queens Park finished off a confident Cup performance by storming to the promotion spot and a league win in the second half of the National 1 season. Winning comprehensively across the board against the rest of the league, they slipped up only against challengers Ayr away, a side heavily weakened by injuries going down 20-5.

Ayr were unable to capitalise on the win however, left to fight-out second place with fellow Plate finalists Stewartry. A loss to their Western rivals and two surprise losses to Broughton and Aberdeenshire Quines lost them the race however, Stewartry themselves putting on a late surge to fall only to the champions and in a tight-fought game against Aberdeenshire.

Of Watsonians, Broughton and Aberdeenshire only Watsonians had the chance for the title half way through the season, the latter two sides having suffered too many losses against the top three. However, recently-relegated Watsonians came back after a long two-month break to record only one win in five to close off the season, falling behind the more consistent Broughton by the end of the season.

Morgan closed off the league without a single win against the other remaining six teams, but surviving from relegation with Dundee University having withdrawn from the league structure.

Final table:Cartha Queens Park 48pts;Stewartry 37pts;Ayr 35pts;Broughton 31pts;Watsonians 29pts;Aberdeenshire 28pts;Morgan 0pts

National 2

National 2 remained the two-horse race which developed in the first half the season, Oban Lorne duking it out with Glasgow University for the chance to win the league. Despite Glasgow Uni coming off second best in their head-to-head in January a surprise loss to Garioch left Oban chasing, unable to keep up as Glasgow Uni swept up bonus points in their drive for a league win.

Garioch’s win over the would-be-champions also changed things about mid-table, Lismore losing their strong third-place spot after being squeezed out by Grangemouth in March and taking a 5pt points deduction, a heavy hit in a six-team league. The win was a rare one for trailing Grangemouth however, and Royal Dick Vet College continued to fail to register a win, despite an encouragingly close 28-0 loss to Glasgow Uni.

Final table:

Glasgow University 43pts;Oban Lorne 41pts;Garioch 24pts;Lismore 21pts;Grangemouth 15pts;Royal Dick Vet College 0pts

National Development League

The successful NDL continued with several more fixtures to the end of season, and succeeded in its efforts to develop more teams for the competitive league structure. Annan, Howe Harlequins and Greenock Wanderers will all have their chance on the ladder next season by entering the National 2 league. With the loss of Dundee University this means two new teams to be integrated into the league structure, helping bolster the Scottish league’s fixture list and showing good signs of a growing game.