BT Women’s Premier League Preview: Cougars ready to roar against Stirling County

This evening RHC Cougars venture to Bridgehaugh to face Stirling County, as both sides look to maintain momentum from last weekend’s winning performances (kick-off 8pm).Edinburgh-based Cougars demonstrated their attacking intent during last Friday’s capital derby against Murrayfield Wanderers, securing a 26-36 victory over the current BT Women’s Premier League champions.RHC Cougars have performed consistently in Scotland’s top flight women’s club competition, but have struggled to top the league table – finishing third for two years in a row behind Murrayfield Wanderers and Hillhead Jordanhill.Head Coach Eric Jones said: The win last week away from home in an Edinburgh derby was a big boost to the whole club.We’ve only had an 11% away win rate at Murrayfield in the last 6 seasons in the league, so it’s good to start to turn that around.”We know that there is room for improvement in our performance. We’ve set some clear goals for the season and that result was definitely a step in the right direction so we’re looking to back it up tomorrow evening.”We’ve reviewed the footage from the last couple of games, looked at what the stats are telling us and have identified a couple of small things throughout the week that we hope we can implement on Friday night.”Stirling County won’t be easy prey for the Cougars as the women from Bridgehaugh displayed grit and determination in their first match of the season, defeating newcomers Watsonians (34-22) despite being down 22 points in the first half.Jones added: Stirling have had a few tough seasons but they look to be re-building well and they’ll be on a high from their second half comeback against Watsonians at home.The main thing for us has been managing the work load as we had four full days between playing Hillhead Jordanhill and Murrayfield Wanderers which were both physically tough games.”Elsewhere this Friday evening, Murrayfield Wanderers face their second consecutive Edinburgh derby as they host Watsonians on the back pitches at BT Murrayfield.For the remaining teams, it’s a battle of the west of Scotland clubs as Hillhead Jordanhill are looking to make it three wins from three as they host Stewartry, while Cartha Queen’s Park visit Ayr.Clubs from across BT Women’s National Leagues 1 and 2 will also continue their season this weekend. For a full list of fixtures, visit scottishrugby.org.