Top UK uni sides to do battle

Leeds Metropolitan andCardiff Metropolitan will do battle in the gamein a repeat of the 2012 final.

The players to look out for from Leeds include Fiona Davidson, a scrum half for England who has also represented England at U20 level and on the sevens circuit, and Claire Garner, a fly half who has reached U20 level for England and is a current Sports Scholar at the University.

The key players to watch for Cardiff Met include Kay Wilson, the utility back with 26 caps for England who can play at centre, full back or on the wing, and prop Sasha Acheson, a strong ball carrier who made her England debut against France in November.

Leeds Met women’s side secured a top spot finish in BUCS Premier North League after winning nine of their ten fixtures this season, including a huge winning margin of 128-0 against University of Birmingham.

Cardiff Met women’s finished a strong season top of the table winning all their BUCS Premier South League fixtures without conceding a single point in five of their fixtures.

In the knock out stages of the BUCS Rugby Championship both sides received a BYE into the quarter finals.

With a convincing win of 86-0 against Oxford University Leeds were into the semi final to face Gloucestershire. Another strong performance against Gloucestershire saw them win 43-12 to see them into their fifth final in six seasons.

Cardiff Met faced University of Newcastle in the quarter final continuing with the dominance they showed all season in a 92-5 victory. Cardiff Met once again secured a convincing win against 2013 champions University of Exeter 50-7 to see them into the finals.

Looking ahead to the Final, former Leeds Met player and current England international Emily Scarratt believes that the experience in their ranks will be really important on the day.

“They’ve (Cardiff Met) got a fairly stacked team it’s fair to say, but with the likes of Claire Garner and Sarah Clough who have been around a long time, Leeds Met have a lot of experience. They will just have to use all of their experience in what will certainly be a very difficult game. It should be a good spectacle for women’s rugby!”

Speaking ahead of the Twickenham showdown, Acheson said that she is really looking forward to the Final and that Leeds Met will be strong opposition. “I am really excited about another Cardiff Met v Leeds Met final, as its how it always used to be in years gone by, so in my final year it’s exciting that it’s another north-south showdown! Leeds Met always proves to be very physical, with pace out wide, and they are a team who always provide a lot of talent and prove a really good match for our girls.”

Leeds Met and Cardiff Met have a long history in the BUCS Rugby Championship Finals which saw Cardiff Met come out on top to lift the trophy in their last three head to heads.

Since the women’s competition began in 1985, Cardiff Met have won the Championship seven times, starting in 2002, with their most recent victory coming in 2012 when they defeated their opposition this year, Leeds Met, by 30-5. From 2006 to 2010, Cardiff Met formally UWIC secured five consecutive victories in the Championship final at Twickenham, a feat that had not been achieved previously by any other men’s or women’s side in BUCS Rugby history.

The BUCS Rugby Championship Final will take place on Friday 28th March 2014, at Twickenham Stadium. Women’s final KO at 5:00pm and Men’s Final KO at 7:30pm. Adult tickets are available for just £10 with NUS ticket available for just £8 from www.RFU.com/FridayNightLights