Scottish Cup, National Shield & National Bowl competitions progress
6 Mar 2023The Scottish Cup, National Shield and National Bowl competitions are heating up as the quarter-final and semi-final rounds have been drawn.
The Scottish Cup, which has been challenged for since 1995/96, was last contested in the 2018/19 season in an edge of the seat thriller at BT Murrayfield, as Ayr narrowly defeated Heriot’s for the win (27-25).
Last season, Scottish Rugby made the decision to postpone the Scottish Cup, National Shield and National Bowl competitions in order to allow clubs to fulfil their league matches, which took priority for the club game.
The previous two seasons (2019/20 and 2020/21) saw contact rugby shut-down due to the pandemic, leaving the trophies unclaimed for a total of three seasons.
The Final for all three tiers of competition will be played on Silver Saturday at BT Murrayfield, Saturday 6 May.
National Shield & National Bowl
Knock-out fixtures for the National Shield and Bowl have been taking place across the country throughout the season, with the latest round of competition concluding last weekend.
East Kilbride had the edge over Kilmarnock on Saturday, narrowly defeating their rivals 17-14 to secure a home semi-final.
Their opposition in semi-final one will be North Berwick, who enjoyed a comprehensive 35-7 victory over Oban Lorne.
A converted try was all that separated Linlithgow and Stewartry on Saturday, but the South West Scotland side emerged the winners, securing a home semi-final.
Dunfermline managed to claw their way back in the second-half of their fixture against Dalziel (5-10) at McKane Park to secure themselves a spot in the semi-final. Full-time score concluded 23-10 to the Fife side.
In the East Regional Bowl Final, which took place in November last year, Edinburgh University Medics took the spoils 18-12 over Hawick Harlequins for a spot in the National Bowl semi-final.
Their opposition will be Panmure, after they defeated Bannockburn 24-36 in the Caledonia Midlands Regional Bowl Final.
Kinloss Eagles struck down RAF Lossiemouth in the Caledonia North Regional Bowl Final, winning 44-24.
In the West Regional Bowl Final, visitors Cumbernauld emerged victorious over Lochaber (21-40).
The ties for the National Shield and National Bowl semi-finals will be Saturday 1 April.
National Shield semi-final 1: East Kilbride v North Berwick
National Shield semi-final 2: Stewartry v Dunfermline
National Bowl semi-final 1: Edinburgh University Medics v Panmure
National Bowl semi-final 2: Kinloss Eagles v Cumbernauld
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Cup continues to progress, and the quarter-final rounds are scheduled for Saturday 1 April, the weekend after the Round 2 ties (Saturday 25 March).
As such, Scottish Rugby have made the quarter-final draw, so that teams immediately know where they are going on completion of their Round 2 ties.
Scottish Cup quarter-final 1: GHA or Ayr v Selkirk or Musselburgh
Scottish Cup quarter-final 2: Kelso or Heriot’s Blues v Dundee Rugby or Glasgow Hawks
Scottish Cup quarter-final 3: Currie Chieftains or Melrose Rugby v Marr or Watsonian FC
Scottish Cup quarter-final 4: Edinburgh Academical or Hawick v GHK or Stirling County
