Glasgow Warriors 10 – 29 Clovers

A battling performance from Glasgow Warriors ended in a 29-10 defeat at the hands of the Clovers at Scotstoun this afternoon, as an impressive second-half display from the home side ultimately proved in vain in round four of the Celtic Challenge.

Tries from Izzy Hannay and Beth Blacklock – on her club debut – were the least the Warriors deserved, throwing everything at their visitors until the final whistle.

Reflecting on the performance, Glasgow Warriors Head Coach, Chris Laidlaw, said: “The easy thing to do would be to look at the results on their own, but we’ve got to value performance and growth week on week, in everything from our preparation to on the pitch. That’s ultimately how we’re going to get closer on the scoreboard, and the girls are putting a massive amount of effort and energy across the full programme.

“We have to find a way of staying in the game for longer periods of time, but there are definitely elements of the game where we can see improvements each week. Our attack has come on throughout the competition, we’re just not quite able to capitalise on pressure for long enough and punish teams.

“The great thing is that there isn’t long to dwell on results in this competition, and we get another opportunity against the Thunder next week. They’ll be a totally different challenge again, the physicality we come up against week on week is a step up and we have to be ready to match that. We’ve got to be excited by the challenges though, and we’ll prepare as well as we can this week.”

With a quick turnaround before travelling to Wales to take on Brython Thunder next weekend, Garioch’s Megan Hyland is confident that results to match the displays on the field are on their way.

“It was definitely a performance that was an improvement upon last week, we’re just disappointed not to come away with the win really,” said the back-rower.

“We were slow to get going, but we rallied well and we spoke at half-time about keeping the momentum going from the try from Izzy [Hannay] just before half-time. We stuck at it and now we just need to keep building.

“The two Welsh teams are very physical squads, so we know we need to keep our physicality levels high. I’ve got full faith in this group, though, from everyone from the coaches to the players.

“Training this week was focused on putting our skills under pressure and making sure they stay at a high level. Next week is going to be another big challenge, but we know what we can do as a group.”

Glasgow Warriors return to action in the final round of action before the play-offs, facing Brython Thunder at Stadium CSM on Saturday 3 February at 2.30pm.

Gwalia Lightning 19 – 20 Edinburgh Rugby

Edinburgh Rugby continued their impressive form in the Celtic Challenge, making it three wins from four after a dramatic 20-19 win away against Gwalia Lightning.

Edinburgh claimed a bonus point win in Cardiff, through tries from Millie Whitehouse, Cieron Bell, Poppy Fletcher, and a last-gasp winner from Panashe Muzambe, sealing a 20-19 win on the road.

Head Coach, Claire Cruikshank, was filled with pride after her side’s Celtic Challenge triumph, saying:

“We are buzzing after that, we are absolutely delighted because that was a very hard fought win. I am proud of the team for the way they kept their composure once we went behind in the second half.

“We were happy with the way that we played in the first half, but we felt that we maybe left a couple of tries out there because we had one held up in the corner and dropped the ball near the line on another occasion.”

The win was Edinburgh’s third in four games, and second away win in Wales on the bounce – having triumphed against Brython Thunder at Parc y Scarlets.  Currently sat in second place in the table, the capital side can seal a top three spot with a win against the Clovers this weekend.

“Wales is a tough place to come for any Scottish side these days and it tends to have been over the years, so to have come down twice in recent weeks and headed back up the road with full points is great and the players should take confidence from that.

“We now have one more game to come against the Irish Clovers on Saturday, and we want to build from here and make sure we are in the top three after the split.”

Edinburgh Rugby return home to Hive Stadium as they battle out to stay within the top three as they take on the Clovers on Saturday 3 February at 12.30pm.