With the flood lights illuminating Inch Park on a chilly Wednesday evening, the stage was set for the second team to face off against Queen Margaret University. The first half saw both Edinburgh and QM score tries in the first 10 minutes with a 50 yard break from Judith Oguguo giving Edinburgh some much needed confidence. Tensions rose as the referee appeared to be set on interrupting game flow, but Becky Youngs dug deep and got herself to the line with sheer determination to put Edinburgh ahead 10-5.
After another brief pause in the game while the ref let out some frustrations in the direction of the spectators at the sidelines, QM manages to keep up a strong attack in the next section of play. As always Doctor Judith could not be stopped with ball in hand and got her second try under the sticks. With a successful conversion from new kicker Jess McClintick, the score stood at 17-5. A string of penalties just before half time gave QM the ground they needed to get another try and with a conversion the half time score was left at 17-12.
Stop start stuff in the second half (thanks ref, er, sir), but some great rugby being played despite frustrations on the pitch. Julia ‘Coolio’ Guerrero receives a yellow card for essentially having too much hair in an uncontested scrum, which is not well received by the Edinburgh crowd! QM manage to break through for another try and conversion. Both teams battle hard and are each rewarded with another try, taking the score to 22-24 with 20 minutes to play.
With all to play for, the girls give everything they have. Blood, sweat and tears are shed in the bid for the win, with great ball carrying from Lily Dibb-Fuller in attack and tackles coming in from all the girls in defense. An absolutely awesome effort in the last 10 minutes show the resilience and strength of this squad and it pays off with a hard fought try from the last play that guarantees the win! Vice Captain Ciorstaidh Galloway summed up the overall feeling on the pitch in the last couple of minutes, saying ‘I thought I was going to vomit’. Full time score 27-24 to Edinburgh
