Rugby girls lift cup as successful season nears its end

The squad, which features a number of players from the Wee County, entered the Scottish Rugby Club Youth Girls' President's Conference league in 2016 and came out on top without dropping a single game.

Putting the icing on the cake two weeks ago, they also went on to win the Scottish Rugby Girls' Club Cup in an exciting final at Murrayfield Stadium.

They were up against the girls from Hillhead Jordanhill RFC, beating their Glasgow opponents 36-26.

Team coach Al Wilson has been very happy with the successful season so far. Playing on the international pitch, the place sacred in the heart of many Scottish rugby fans, was an amazing experience for all too.

The coach said: “It was pretty exciting for everyone, but I think the girls did very well to focus on their rugby first and enjoy the experience second, which paid dividends.

“We were very lucky to be drawn as the home team, which meant that we got to use the same changing rooms as all their heroes get to [be] in – Stuart Hogg, Jonny Grey, Finn Russell and all the rest of it. It was quite an experience.”

For the rest of the season the team is looking forwards to sevens tournaments and a tour to Belfast in August.

Al added: “We are going to play some local clubs and we are going to go along to the Women's [Rugby] World Cup final, which will be held at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.

“They are pretty excited about it and I think I am just as excited.”

At the beginning of the season, the squad had less than a dozen players and it now swelled to 27, possibly becoming the largest girls' team in Scotland.

The coach said: “We are always looking for new players, some of those have only played for a couple of weeks, some have played for years so it's a good mixture of experience.

“It's nice to see girls, especially girls that have never played before, come along and do so well – it's been a really positive experience this year.”

Those interested in joining can learn more on stirlingcounty-rfc.co.uk