Murrayfield dream ends in heartbreak for Thurso pair
TWO Caithness ladies represented their club at the women’s Scottish Rugby Union cup final on Sunday for the RBS Sarah Beaney Cup.
Aileen Simmonite and Lorna Murdoch, from Thurso, were playing for Royal High Corstorphine Cougars against Hillhead Jordanhill (Hills) at the home of Scottish rugby, Murrayfield.
It was the first opportunity either of them had to play on the hallowed turf.
The match was played in near ideal conditions with only a slight breeze but with a raw cold in the latter stages.
The first half saw lots of open play with the Cougars making frequent forays towards the Hill 22 and eventually this led to the first try. A second followed but, with five minutes of the half remaining, Hills replied with their own try.
The tries were not converted and at half-time the score was 10-5 in favour of the Cougars.
Hills stepped out strongly in the second half with an early try. But the Cougars replied with a converted try and a penalty to lead 20-10. Hills then scored a converted try to trail 20-17 going into the final quarter with the Cougars maintaining an increasing desperate defence before finally conceding a try with one minute left on the clock, Hills winning 22-20.
Both Caithness girls were very disappointed to have lost but agreed that playing on the international pitch had been the highlight of their rugby careers.
Aileen said: "On the pitch the noise of only a few hundred spectators was incredible — I’ve no idea how you communicate with team-mates when there’s a crowd of 65,000."
Lorna, who started her ruby playing at mini level at six years old, said: "I’ve dreamed of playing here every time I’ve been to a club match or an international. You get treated so well when you’re the player and I kept thinking how I was following the footsteps of my Scotland hero Chris Patterson. The whole day has been a fantastic experience, especially the first 79 minutes of the match."
Spirited Greens end season with record points haul – page 19.