Last week the 1XV secured the league title with a win against Birmingham and this Wednesday saw them play Durham away for what was set to be one of the most competitive fixtures of the season so far. This team think big and aim high so all focus was on putting in another winning performance for a potentially history making day for the club.
Edinburgh kicked off in the freezing conditions at Maiden Castle and quickly applied pressure winning the ball back. Some quick hands from the back of the scrum and big carries put Edinburgh firmly in the driving seat in the opening phases of the game. After only 3 minutes into the game Haggis found a gap and capitalised scoring the first try! The conversion was good from Slaw and the score stood at 7-0.
Durham put in some massive hits after the restart and despite giving away a few penalties they continued to be a dominating threat in the Edinburgh half. After 15 minutes of Edinburgh trying to cancel the threat, Durham's Captain Claudia MacDonald managed to slip through the line and get her team the score. 20 minutes in and the score was 7-5 to Edinburgh. Minutes later and Edinburgh found themselves defending on their try line yet again and MacDonald made another great run, putting Durham ahead 7-10. With Edinburgh looking determined in attack, Haggis made another dash down the right wing and gave a spectacular offload to Sarah Law who scored. Minutes before half time and MacDonald got her third. Edinburgh trailed by 12-15 at half time.
As the second half got under way, both teams were making a real effort to combat the conditions, keeping it a very forward dominated game. Edinburgh now had the wind on their side and a spring in their step. It wasn't long before they took the lead once again as Rachel Law used some quick thinking tapping the ball down after a knock on from Durham near their try line. Windy conditions made conversion kicking difficult for Katie Dougan and Edi were only able to get the lead of 17-15.
As newly capped Scotland player and Captain Nicola Howat moved into the backs, the girls started moving the ball well and Durham struggle to stop the next try which came from Rhona Lloyd. As Edinburgh sat with a slightly more comfortable lead they knew the kind of game they needed to play in the last stages of the game to secure the win. Durhams forwards made many outstanding runs towards the end of the game, but were unable to push right to the line.
As the final whistle blew, Edinburgh had claimed it with a 22-15 victory!
This is the first time in any women's rugby premier league that a team has managed to win every match and get every single bonus point on offer. History makers.
Rhona Lloyd had this to say about the game: "Fantastic to get the win to complete our league season. Weather conditions made it tough and credit to our forwards who worked incredibly hard to retain ball. Fighting back from being 15-12 down at half time to get the bonus point win will prepare us well going into the knock out stages of the cup. Really proud of all 20 players on the team sheet who made a huge impact, and alongside the 2s win contributed to a fantastic day for the club!"
