Biggar and Shawlands win one apiece at the Girls Schools Cup Finals

The U15 and the U18 finals were played ahead of the Scotland Women’s match against Canada which saw Canada scrape a close 25-28 win over the home team.

Shawlands Academy and Biggar High School were contending the trophy in both finals. Both the Glasgow and the Borders schools have been the favourites for the finals in both leagues as they came up with wins in tough matches throughout the season.

The U15 players opened up the day with the school’s senior players and a host of friends and family supporting from the stands.

Shawlands showed their speed right from the whistle with Jasmin Scott getting the first try of the day in the second minute. Five minutes later, she succeeded in a second try for the Glasgow side.

Biggar High School had a great defensive line and various opportunities with the ball but every time they made ground, Shawlands would always push back with the speed that they couldn’t rival.

In harsh conditions, the match was called early so that the players could get back into the warmth of the stadium.

Final score: Shawlands Academy 49–0 Biggar High School
Player of the match: Favour Akinola (Shawlands Academy)

Shawlands captain Anna Jenkins said: “It is amazing to win the cup for the third time in a row. I am really happy because we have worked so hard. I have been involved in the team for a few years and it has been amazing seeing everyone get better each year. Being more successful has made rugby more of a popular choice so we have enjoyed welcoming new players into the team.

“It was great being able to play in front of a crowd. I didn’t think too much about it until afterwards. It did make us a wee bit more nervous but that just helped encourage us to play better.”

In the U18 finals, it was Biggar who opened up the scoring with an opportunity to break the defensive line in the first minute of the match. Shawlands fought back and made Biggar work hard for their further tries however Biggar still managed to get two more tries in before the first half was over, both scored by Feebi Robinson.

Into the second half and Shawlands got a try of their own. The Borders side quickly followed with Robinson achieving a hat trick. Weary legs in the final 15 minutes of the match allowed Shawlands to close the gap further with two more tries. Biggar closed the match in the same way that they opened it with a further try with two minutes left on the clock.

Final score: Shawlands Academy 19 – 43 Biggar High School
Player of the match: Sarah Denholm (Biggar High School)

Lucy Blackie from Biggar said: “It is absolutely amazing to win. So indescribable especially since we were here last year. We played well last year but we played so much better this year. It is unbelievable.”

Both schools can add another trophy to their cabinet after a great day of rugby in challenging conditions at Scotstoun.