EAST Lothian Girls Rugby missed out on silverware as they lost in the U16 Scottish Youth Cup Final to Stirling County 32-17 at BT Murrayfield.

The match started in tight fashion, with both teams sharing possession and playing neat phases but unable to break the deadlock.

In the 10th minute, Stirling County opened the scoring after a sustained period of attacking pressure where East Lothian conceded numerous penalties before Ella Gibbons scored after a smart tap and go.

Five minutes later, Stirling County extended their lead. A powerful scrum forced another penalty inside the East Lothian twenty-two, followed up by an instinctive tap and go which saw Charlotte Heath cross under the posts.

However, Stirling’s early dominance would fade and East Lothian battled back expertly, grabbing a try just before the break. A well-worked lineout on the near side was spun out to the other side. Strong running from Faye Sutherland and Saara Archer drove the team forward before Emily Love weaved her way past the defence to finish in the corner.

East Lothian Courier: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MARCH 27: East Lothian huddle up before their match during the 2022 Youth Cup finals at the BT Murrayfield Stadium, on March 27, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MARCH 27: East Lothian huddle up before their match during the 2022 Youth Cup finals at the BT Murrayfield Stadium, on March 27, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

East Lothian found themselves level just after the break and it came from the game’s star player Love. Picking the ball up on the Stirling twenty-two, she danced around a couple of defenders before using her raw pace to glide past the rest of the team, drifting out wide before taking the ball all the way under the posts.

Only a couple minutes later, East Lothian Girls took the lead for the first time.

A well-worked scrum allowed Love to orchestrate a couple of tidy phases out wide, breaking the Stirling defensive line before playing it off to a storming Jordyn Hill-Jowett, who finished tidily under the posts, Love converting afterwards as East Lothian led 10-17.

The momentum soon swung back in the favour of Stirling County, who showed a tenacious edge to get back into the game.

Ella Crozier sneaked over the line after some well-worked play in the centre of the park to reduce the gap to two points.

Two minutes later, Stirling regained the lead, Niamh Robertson-Jack breaking through a couple of tackles and jinking inside the last defender to get over the line.

Stirling’s continued pressure was tiring the East Lothian Girls defence, who continued to tackle valiantly but found themselves stretched on the large Murrayfield pitch.

East Lothian Courier: Emily Love with her POTM award with Liz Musgrove and Megan Gaffney. Credit : Scottish Rugby/SNSEmily Love with her POTM award with Liz Musgrove and Megan Gaffney. Credit : Scottish Rugby/SNS

The killer blow came with just over five to go, Gibbons once again breaking a couple of challenges with her direct, powerful running and finishing smartly to make the score 25-17.

East Lothian continued to push to find a way back into the game but found themselves struggling to deal with a Stirling side that found another gear late on.

Robertson-Jack would score again with a minute to go to earn Stirling County a deserved victory, even if the 32-17 scoreline flattered them slightly.

Craig Robertson, East Lothian Girls coach, was delighted at the girls’ efforts and praised them for bringing pride to the county, saying: “We did really well, we played really well.

“We lost two key players through head injuries very early on in the game, and one later on; both players seem to be OK, but of course safety wise we have to sit them out.

“I think playing on this big pitch, fitness and tiredness kicked in, but our girls stepped up – I think they were absolutely tremendous.

“They are a county team, they come from all the schools all over East Lothian, they’ve gelled together so well, and I couldn’t really ask for anything more.”

East Lothian Girls: Demi Reid, Rebecca Knox, Saara Archer, Faye Sutherland, Eve Cowe, Emily Love, Adele Parkinson, Scarlett Crossan Brown, Sophie Ryan, Skye Taylor, Ellie Moffat, Rowan Kittle, Ellie Myles, Tandala Macrae, Becca Keith. Replacements: Jordyn Hill-Jowett, Phebe Duncan, Morgan Conn, Emma-Jane Thomson, Cleo Storrier (Injured).