BT Women’s Premier League Preview: Hillhead travel to the capital to face Cougars

This Sunday sees Hillhead Jordanhill travel to Edinburgh as they take on RHC Cougars at Union Park, kick-off 2pm.Despite Cougars defeating Stewartry 0-57 away from home on Sunday, the Glasgow girls narrowly remain in second place on 21 points, while Cougars trail on 20.Both sides have lost one from five matches, failing to overpower the unbeaten Murrayfield Wanderers, meaning whoever secures this match will have the best chance of keeping up with the winning Wandies. Hillhead Jordanhill Head Coach, Dean Kelbrick, said: “We were disappointed with the result against Murrayfield Wanderers, but at the same time there was a lot to take forward from that game.We scored some good tries and at times fronted up well in defence, and to come from 5-38 down to finish 24-38 showed some good determination and took a bit of guts from the Hills girls.”Kelbrick added that his squad are looking forward to their match against Cougars this weekend and expects a tough game, but emphasised their focus on their own performance and not think too much about who they are playing against.Regarding Cougars being close third on the league table, with only a point between them and Hillhead, Kelbrick said: “It would be great if we were able to open up a gap between us and RHC, but the fact that things are quite tight near the top is a good thing for the league.We want to keep improving on the key elements that we’ve been working on, and hopefully that will keep us threatening the top of the competition.”The challenge this fixture poses for the two teams will surely make this clash one to watch, and since Cougars’ recent lose to Wandies incurred a bigger point margin than that of Hillhead’s match with the Edinburgh-side, RHC will want to prove they can compete with the top teams.Looking at last season’s results, Cougars defeated Hills 40-32 in their first fixture, but Hills managed to secure the following three matches against RHC (46-10, 0-41, 43-22).So Cougars know they have it in them to conquer Hills, and they’ll hope the home advantage will give them that extra edge.Elsewhere, Ayr host Murrayfield Wanderers who will look to retain their unbeaten record, while the west coast side will hope to build on their first win (10-15) against Stirling County last weekend.Stirling County travel to Cartha Queen’s Park as both look to bounce back after their recent defeats – Cartha lost to Murrayfield Wanderers at the weekend, and Stirling narrowly to Ayr.Clubs from across BT Women’s National Leagues Division 1 and 2 will also continue their season this weekend. For a full list of fixtures, visit scottishrugby.org.This Sunday, the third Women’s National Development League event takes place in Livingston for new and less experienced players from 10am-3:30pm. Click here for more information or to sign up for free on Eventbrite.