Corstorphine Cougars broke the Stirling County hoodoo put on them two years ago when they crashed over the whitewash with four minutes remaining in the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership final.

Fullback Kiyomi Honjigawa, who was yellow carded with 15 minutes to play, came back onto the field and received the wide pass to score the winning try for Cougars in front of a packed Union Park.

In a replay of the final Stirling won two years ago, Cougars have shown their growth during that time and won an enthralling final.

The home side kicked off short and immediately won the ball back in midfield. After settling phases, a penalty was given for County not rolling away.

Cougars came closest to scoring first through a maul which bundled over the line, but it was judged to have been knocked on during the final push. Scrum to County.

Another penalty came shortly after for County holding on too long. Lisa Martin lined up a shot at goal from the 22 and popped it over. (Cougars 3 – 0 Stirling, 6 mins)

And Cougars won another penalty right on the opposition 22 shortly after. Again, for holding on.

They kicked towards the corner and the driving maul was powerful as they heaved towards the line – Merryn Gunderson with the ball at the back of the maul – and over for the first try. Martin converted from a tight angle to extend the home side’s lead to 10. (10 – 0, 13 mins)

Desperate defence from Cougars kept Stirling out from striking immediately back. A break from fly-half Ceitidh Ainsworth in midfield put her winger Emily Love in for what looked to be a certain try, but for dogged defence from her opposite, Erika Gladwin who bundled her over.

A penalty let Cougars out of that danger, but Stirling were certainly exerting the majority of the pressure. Penalties piled up in Corstorphine’s 22 and Stirling tapped and ran over and over.

And they were over! Centre Fionn  Keys was the benefactor of the continued era of dominance from the visitors, and they were right back in it. Rachel Cox lined up the conversion, but it was just wide. A change for Stirling as Holland Bogan came on for Sarah Murdoch. (10 – 5, 21 mins)

Stirling continued to pile on the pressure as they won it back in the 22. The ball was spread wide, and side to side as they found gaps in the Cougars defence. Eventually, the defence wore too thin as Emily Norval crossed over for Stirling’s second try. Two tries in three minutes for the visitors. Cox couldn’t convert from the touchline – and we were all tied up. (10 – 10, 24 mins)

Stirling grew into this match after a slow start – they quickly became dominant in almost every area of the game. Another penalty was given, this time for holding on in the tackle. The speed of their running game was catching the home side out, for the time being.

With 10 minutes left in the half, Cougars finally had some reprieve from what was a County onslaught. A scrum penalty allowed them to clear their lines.

But it was only a temporary reprieve. Again, penalties led Stirling’s tap and go momentum all the way up to the try line, and after a first phase, and with the defence back-pedalling, Cox dove over for a deserved third County try. She couldn’t convert her own try, with five minutes remaining in the half. (10 – 15, 35 mins)

Cougars responded with pressure of their own, ending with a penalty allowing them to boot towards the corner flag and win a strong lineout. The drive was good and ended just metres short – a pick and go came close but was held up for a goal line dropout with a minute and a few seconds left in the first stanza.

Cougars’ momentum was promising, as more phases built and the short, sharp phases took their toll on Stirling’s defence as Katie Lindsay crashed over from short range. Martin struck the ball over as the last action in the first half. (17 – 15, HT)

Half time: Corstorphine Cougars 17 – 15 Stirling County

Immediate pressure from Cougars ended with the ball held up over the line once more, and County took the goal line drop out quickly, catching fullback Kiyomi Honjigawa off guard, who knocked it on for a County scrum.

A slower start to the second half than the first saw Cougars work the Stirling defence side to side, earning penalties to drive their phases up the field. Desperate defence from Kiera McDonald knocked Tanya Griffith into touch, as Stirling’s Rachel Crawford came on for try scorer Norval.

Cougars made their own change as Lauryn McGrotty came on for Hadley for the remaining half hour.

Stirling made their first move of the half, building pressure and penalties inside the Cougars 22. Repeated penalties saw referee Beatrice Casares Fernandez speak to Cougars captain Emma Turner, putting her side on thin ice.

And the pressure paid off – substitute Crawford received the ball as the it was spun wide for the backs, and she cantered in at the corner, putting County back in front with 21 to play. Cox couldn’t convert. (17 – 20, 59 mins)

Stirling continued their dominance of the second period as a break came through the midfield, falling just short of a fifth try. Honjigawa got hands on the ball, but it was deemed to be still in the ruck and she was sent to the sin bin for that. (Yellow card, 61 mins)

Caitlin Hadley and Faye Sutherland came on for the Cougars with Gunderson and Turner coming off. Caitlin Sedgeworth also came on for Pip Benson.

Stirling’s Cox was the next recipient of a yellow card for a cynical offside. (Yellow card, 65 mins)

Megan Kennedy and Alanna Beetham came on for Stirling’s Kiera MacDonald and Sky Phimister with 12 minutes left on the clock.

With time ticking down, Stirling’s defence was resolute, but when in possession of the ball did everything possible to slow the game down, but it caught them holding onto the ball too long and Cougars kicked the resulting penalty towards the corner.

Off the back of the lineout, the ball was spun wide and into the hands of Honjigawa who was freshly back onto the field after the yellow card. She stepped inside and crashed over the whitewash to put Cougars back in front with four minutes remaining. Martin just pushed conversion. (22 – 20, 76 mins)

A brilliant 50-22 kick with a minute left on the clock left Cougars with a lineout just 15m from Stirling’s line. The clock ticked over 80 minutes, and with a final flourish, Griffith booted the ball into touch for Cougars to win the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership final.

Full time: Corstorphine Cougars 22 – 20 Stirling County

Team sheets

Corstorphine Cougars
15 Kiyomi Honjigawa 14 Emily Love 13 Jess McClintick 12 Lisa Martin 11 Erika Gladwin 10 Tanya Griffith 9 Pip Benson; 1 Emma Donaldson (vc) 2 Kaylee Fraser 3 Katie Lindsay 4 Caitlin Hadley 5 Adelle Ferrie 6 Emma Turner (captain) 7 Alex Stewart 8 Merryn Gunderson.
Replacements: 16 Abby Anderson 17 Faye Sutherland 18 Lauryn McGrotty 19 Zoe Turner 20 Rebekah Douglas 21 Caitlan Sedgeworth 22 Morgan Welsh.
Head coach: Eric Jones.

Stirling County
15 Sky Phimister 14 Brogan Henderson 13 Fionn Keys 12 Ciorstaidh Ainsworth (captain) 11 Emily Norval 10 Ceitidh Ainsworth 9 Jodie Murdoch; 1 Paige Aitken-Robinson 2 Aicha Sutcliffe 3 Rachel Cox 4 Sarah Murdoch 5 Sophie Murphy 6 Kiera MacDonald 7 Heather Davis 8 Samaanther Taganekurukuru.
Replacements: 16 Eilidh Graham 17 Megan Kennedy 18 Jenna Duncan 19 Holland Bogan 20 Aimee Dallas 21 Rachel Crawford 22 Alanna Beetham.
Head coach: Mark Ainsworth.

Match Officials
Referee: Beatrice Casares Fernandez
AR1: Rosie Evans
AR2: Sophie Tougher-Mitchell