News

Sirens travelled to Corstorphine Cougars for their third-round game in the SRU Women’s Premiership.

Stewartry were under no illusions of the challenge that lay ahead of them, as last year’s Premiership runners-up were looking to get back to their winning ways following a narrow loss last week.

The game started well for the Sirens who won a penalty in the first minute of the game. With the resulting line-out, the Sirens made ground into the home side’s half resulting in a second line-out. This was lost and a few phases later Cougars broke down the field and through only some great cover tackling the Sirens managed to cause a knock-on. In the resulting scrum, the away side was pushed off the ball with the Cougars 8 driving over from short range to gain a penalty try as the defensive tackle was deemed to be too high.

This set the pattern up for the game with both sides conceding numerous penalties in and around the tackle area. Cougars were dominant in the scrum and line-out, which allowed their backs plenty of freedom out wide.

The Sirens had few opportunities to gain a foothold in the Cougars’ half but they kept knocking at the door. Half-time soon arrived with the Cougars 42 points to the good. Despite the score, the half-time mood in the Sirens camp remained positive, with the girls looking to put some points on the board before the end of the game.

With the Sirens playing downhill in the second half. They started positively taking the game to the home team, with some possession in the Cougars’ half eventually leading to one of the Cougars’ props receiving a yellow card. Unfortunately, the resulting penalty kick was missed.

Cougars regained possession and worked their way into the Sirens’ half and, much like the first yellow card, the Sirens received a sin bin, bringing both teams down to 14 players for around 5 minutes.

The Sirens kept on looking for opportunities to cross the whitewash. however, the Cougars’ defence stood their ground. Although the Cougars added another 26 points during the second half, the Sirens managed to retain the ball for longer periods, giving them opportunities that on another day may have resulted in points.

A tough day at the office for the Sirens, with areas to work on, however, congratulations must go to Kasi McReddie who played her first-ever game of rugby and Dawn Currie, who played her 100th game for the Sirens.