Murrayfield Wanderers overcame a dogged RHC side, 20-5, this afternoon at Murrayfield to retain the trophy they won last year, making it nine Cup wins out of the last twelve tournaments contested.
Head coach Jules Murciano said: "We've worked hard all year, I think we kept the ball really well today and our continuity was good.
"Ten of our players have come through our under-15 and under-18 programmes so we have good strength in depth. Our number 9, Sarah Law, has not long turned 17 so that's a very exciting prospect."
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As two side who know each other's game very well, it was always going to be an edgy encounter between these two Edinburgh sides. Early pressure from RHC kept the game around Wandies 22 for the opening ten minutes with both sides having challenges with the scrum, a recurring theme of the afternoon.
A solid kick to touch from RHC stand-off Tanya Griffiths hinted at the promise of a score, with a lineout at 5m but a fumbled pass led to a good clearance kick by her opposite number, Lisa Martin.
The first real signs of attack from Wanderers came when winger Megan Gaffney broke through the RHC defence after 15 minutes, a move which spurred her side on to work their way up the pitch, plenty of pick and goes ending with a run from Martin up the wing and across the whitewash to dot down after 20 minutes. The try was unconverted (5-0).
A yellow card for RHC opened up a further advantage to Wandies some minutes later and just before the half-hour mark, captain and centre Laura Steven crossed beside the posts to put Wanderers 10-0 up.
Going in to the last ten minutes the action reverted to the other end of the pitch with a sharp break from full-back Steph Johnston raising RHC hope but the whitewash was just out of rach as a fumbled pass was cleared by Martin.
HT: 10-0
It was Wanderers who kicked off the second half with a strong sense of purpose, immediately putting their mark on the game with a great try from substitute Emily Leger within five minutes, the conversion again just coming up short (15-0).
Barely two minutes later Wandies were on the attack again, a well worked run from number 8 Ruth Slaven, the ball passed to Leger and on to Martin who secured the team's fourth try, making it 20-0.
As the elements closed in, the onset of heavy showers began to cause problems for both sides, with tackles missed, slips, fumbled passes and a reduced crowd as supporters sought shelter. Wanderers soon retliated, however, with an imressive passage of play as centre Annabel Sergeant offloaded to Steven, dodging the opposition to pass to winger Katy Green who just ran out of which in what was a near-sure score.
As the clock ticked down, all credit to RHC who made a final push to get points on the board; number 8 Sonia Cull headed the charge which resulted in centre Claire Bain crossing the line with barely a minute to go. The conversion came up short, the whistle sounded and with the final score 20-5, Murrayfield Wanderers retained the Sarah Beaney Cup.
Murrayfield Wanderers
15 Cat Ward
14 Katy Green
15 Cat Ward
14 Katy Green
13 Laura Steven
(c)
12 Annabel Sergeant
11 Megan Gaffney
10 Lisa Martin
9 Sarah Law
1 Ellen Beattie
2 Sarah Quick
3 Beth Dickens
4 Cat Syme
5 Jilly Alford
6 Michelle Smyth
7 Jen Cram
8 Ruth Slaven
Substitutes
(all used)
16 Suzy Hex
17 Emily Leger
18 Rachael Murray
19 Kelly Shields
20 Alex Read
21 Sarah Sexton
22 Jenni Taylor
RHC Cougars
15 Steph Johnston
14 Jenny Duff
13 Claire Bain
12 Leanne Neary
11 Dawne McPherson
10 Tanya Griffith
9 Louise Dalgliesh (c)
1 Kirsty McCall
2 Aileen Simmonite
3 Sarah Edgar
4 Sarah Paterson
5 Anna Swan
6 Nico Hilleson
7 Lynne Reid
8 Sonia Cull
Substitutes (all used except Macdonald and Mackenzie)
16 Alison Macdonald
RHC Cougars
15 Steph Johnston
14 Jenny Duff
13 Claire Bain
12 Leanne Neary
11 Dawne McPherson
10 Tanya Griffith
9 Louise Dalgliesh (c)
1 Kirsty McCall
2 Aileen Simmonite
3 Sarah Edgar
4 Sarah Paterson
5 Anna Swan
6 Nico Hilleson
7 Lynne Reid
8 Sonia Cull
Substitutes (all used except Macdonald and Mackenzie)
16 Alison Macdonald
17 Faye McCallum
18 Rebecca Lewis
19 Iona Haile
20 Magali Ducreux
21 Kirsty Mackenzie
18 Rebecca Lewis
19 Iona Haile
20 Magali Ducreux
21 Kirsty Mackenzie
RBS player of the match: Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers)
Referee: Mhairi Hay
Assistant referees: Mossez Wright and Brian Darling
4th official: Damian Timson
5th official: Walter Gaffney
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