LOUISE McMillan and her Hillhead/Jordanhill team-mates would be well advised not to look up the roll of honour for the Sarah Beaney Cup before they take the field for this afternoon’s final. If they did, they would surely feel they were battling the weight of history as well as perennial rivals Murrayfield Wanderers.
The club from the capital have not only won the cup for the last three years - beating Hillhead/Jordanhill in the last two - they have in fact lifted the trophy a dozen times since it was first contested in 2001. They also pipped their Glasgow rivals for the league this season, but McMillan is confident that her team can end Wanderers’ monopoly if they play to their strengths.
“The hunger is definitely there for a win,” said the back-row forward, who at 19 is one of the youngest club captains in the country. “In the league decider we felt that we maybe imploded a bit and gave it to them. There’s definitely a feeling that we have all the armoury to beat them: we just need to play.”
Or, more precisely, they need to play, and also stop Wanderers from playing. Last year the Edinburgh side’s backs eventually prevailed, with Scotland captain Lisa Martin and stand-off Helen Nelson calling the shots in midfield and wingers Chloe Rollie and Rhona Lloyd scoring two tries each in a 30-10 win.
While Wanderers’ key players are out wide, Hillhead/Jordanhill are strongest up front, in particular in the back row, where McMillan plays alongside Jade Konkel. Sarah Quick, the Murrayfield captain, is sure that stifling those two and other members of the pack will be key to a fourth successive triumph.
“They’ve got a really strong, powerful back row, so as long as we try and shut them off at source, and stop them gaining momentum and getting on the front foot, I think we should be OK,” the 26-year-old hooker said. “Our league decider came right down to the final play this year, and we actually finished it out with very good defence on our own line.
“We pushed really well up the pitch, then got the ball out the park. I think the way our league decider went, it will definitely be a tough match. I definitely think they’ll feel like they’ve got something to prove.
“We’ve got some really exciting people in our back line, and a lot of experience there that could really do some damage. I don’t think we’ve massively changed [from last year], but we’ve really come on in terms of our performance and how we’re trying to play the game and work to our strengths.”
Although the main match goes ahead inside the national stadium, kicking off at 1.15pm, the two subsidiary women’s competitions will take place on Murrayfield’s back pitches. The Bowl final is between Kirkcaldy and Garioch, and the Plate final sees Stirling County take on Stewartry. Both kick off at 11am.
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