Wolfhounds have now won three from three in this event while Edinburgh have won one and lost two and home head coach Claire Cruikshank said: “Disappointment is the emotion after that.
“There was some good stuff, but things just didn’t stick and we weren’t accurate enough on both sides of the ball.
“If you’re not accurate against quality opponent then you get punished. We actually got momentum midway through the first half and were just 7-5 down. We started to get on top of them, but we couldn’t capitalise and then they got on the front foot and took the game away from us.
“They showed how clinical you have to be at this level and we are still trying to work towards that.”
The game got off to a slowish start with both sides feeling each other out until a lovely break through the middle by Wolfhounds winger Maggie Boylan in the eighth minute which Edinburgh did well to stop.
That got Wolfhounds on the front foot though and, in the 15th minute, they took the lead. Some patient build-up play and good sniping by scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly set up No 8 Erin King in space and she went over for the try. Stand-off Dannah O’Brien converted and it was 7-0.
Edinburgh hit back quickly when back-row Alex Stewart put some width on the ball and then it was all about winger Cieron Bell. From around 40 metres out she showed great footwork and pace to go in for her second try of the campaign. Full-back Nicole Marlow could not convert and it was 7-5.
Three minutes later Wolfhounds scored their second try when a neat line-out move saw the ball go back inside to hooker India Daley and she headed towards the try-line. It looked like No 8 Merryn Gunderson had stopped her from dotting down, but she wriggled and got the ball onto the grass for an unconverted score.
Things got worse for Edinburgh in the 27th minute when a slick transition attack from the Wolfhounds after a poor exit from the hosts eventually saw Reilly go over from short range. O’Brien converted and it was 19-5 to the Irish outfit.
It was all Wolfhounds now and their bonus point fourth try came in the 33rd minute. A grubber kick was stabbed through which was not dealt with by the Edinburgh defence and centre Aoife Dalton, the skipper, gleefully pounced on the loose ball to score.
The one-way traffic continued when, just before half-time, more incisive attacking play from Wolfhounds and some missed tackles from Edinburgh saw winger Niamh Marley go over for the Irish side’s fifth try. O’Brien’s conversion made it 33-5.
There was still time for Edinburgh to get their second try before the interval with loose-head Talei Tawake going over with Marlow converting and it was 33-12.
After seven tries in total in the first 40 minutes there was no more scoring until the hour mark.
When those points did come, they were five points to Wolfhounds when a lovely cross-field kick from O’Brien bounced up nicely for Boylan and she ran in for a try to make it 38-12.
The last points of the game came for the Wolfhounds in the final five minutes. Firstly, replacement Aoife Corcoran scored their seventh try converted by fellow sub Abby Moyles and then, to get them up to the half century mark, full-back Stacey Flood also went over.
Teams –
Edinburgh Rugby: N Marlow; C Bell, L Brown, R Philipps, H Walker©; H Ramsay, E Love; T Tawake, A Ronald, M Poolman, A Ferrie, N Logan, C Russell, A Stewart, M Gunderson. Subs used: S Haddow, L MacRae, T Rosie, A Wilson, M Whitehouse, F Sutherland, N Howat, C Moody.
Wolfhounds: S Flood; N Marley, A Dalton©, E Higgins, M Boylan; D O’Brien, A Reilly; C Molloy, I Daley, S Barrett, K Jordan, N Smyth, P Garvey, M Óg O’Leary, E King. Subs used: A Moyles, M Burns, K Whelan, C McLean, A Corcoran, A Flynn, M Clenaghan.
Referee: Ciaran Stark
Scorers –
Edinburgh Rugby: Tries: Bell, Tawake; Cons: Marlow.
Wolfhounds: Tries: King, Daley, Reilly, Dalton, Marley, Boylan, Corcoran, Flood; Cons: O’Brien 4, Moyles.
Scoring sequence (Edinburgh Rugby first): 0-5; 0-7; 5-7; 5-12; 5-17; 5-19; 5-24; 5-26; 5-31; 5-33; 10-33; 12-33 (h-t) 12-38; 12-43; 12-45; 12-50.
Player-of-the-match: Wolfhounds stand-off Dannah O’Brien is an experienced Irish internationalist and it showed here as she linked well with forwards and backs, found space and gave Edinburgh a big lesson in how to manage a game of rugby.
Talking point: Edinburgh – and Glasgow too in their game this weekend for what it’s worth – made just too many basic errors to give themselves a sniff and game management and game awareness need to improve for the Scottish sides in general going forward in this competition.
Freya Walker on the attack for Glasgow versus Gwalia. Image: Glasgow Rugby
GARY HEATLY @ Scotstoun
GLASGOW WARRIORS were 19-12 up after 55 minutes, but Welsh side Gwalia Lightning found another gear in the closing stages to win 31-19 at Scotstoun on Saturday lunchtime.
For large parts of the match Glasgow played some good rugby and are certainly an improved side from last term, but at key times decision-making and exits let them down and allowed their opponents to get back into the ascendancy too easily. Gwalia have now won two and lost one while Glasgow have won one and lost two.
The Warriors’ head coach Lindsey Smith said: “That was frustrating. We played well in parts again, but it’s been the story for the last couple of games for us: when you don’t look after the ball and cough it up you get punished for it.
“A game like this is a learning experience for a lot of the girls. They’re still relatively young and playing at this level under this type of pressure.
“We have the ability to attack and score tries, but going forward we must look after the ball better and we are still searching for an 80-minute performance.”
Glasgow took the lead in the 15th minute when they turned over the ball in their own half and turned defence into attack quickly. Good hands from a number of players including centre Briar McNamara put winger Sky Phimister into space and she ran in from distance for her fourth try of the campaign. It was unconverted and it was 5-0.
11 minutes later, Gwalia looked like they might score their first points of the day when winger Nikita Prothero sped off down the left, but Phimister and her full-back Poppy Mellanby got back and made a try-saving double tackle to put her into touch.
On the half hour mark, Glasgow switched off in defence and were made to pay. A quick tap from Gwalia scrum-half Sian Jones fed second-row Tilly Vucaj and the youngster powered over for a try. Stand-off Carys Hughes converted and it was 7-5.
That score gave Gwalia a boost and just before half-time they looked like they were about to score try number two. However, at close quarters, loose-head Maisie Davies knocked on with the try line beckoning.
Six minutes into the second half Glasgow retook the lead when co-captain Ceitidh Ainsworth created some space and second-row Freya Walker certainly took it. She sidestepped the first defender and then showed good pace and strength from 40 metres out to beat the rest of the defence to the try line. Stand-off Ainsworth converted and it was 12-7.
In the 51st minute the Welsh side came back again when, from a well-worked lineout drive, hooker Molly Reardon went over. It was unconverted and it was 12-12.
The second half was non-stop at this point and four minutes later Glasgow’s third try came.
After a good break up the left by replacement Hannah Smyth, the hosts showed patience to recycle through the phases and back-row Gemma Bell, the Scotland cap, went over from close range. Ainsworth’s conversion made it 19-12, but not for long.
Just before the hour mark, Gwalia winger Courtney Greenway took advantage of a loose ball to go over for a try converted by Hughes and it was 19-19.
Greenway, later named player of the match, was smiling when she scored that try and she was smiling even more later in the game as she scored two more tries – and completed her hat-trick – with one of them converted by Hughes to give her side the 31-19 triumph away from home.
Teams –
Glasgow Warriors: P Mellanby; S Phimister, N Flynn, B McNamara, B Allan; C Ainsworth©, R Darroch; A Sutcliffe, M Hyland, I Spence, H Bogan©, F Walker, G Thomson, G Bell, E Coubrough. Subs used: N Simpson, F Gracie, K Lindsay, S Murphy, E MacGilvray, R Douglas, B Blacklock, H Smyth.
Gwalia Lightning: C Richards; C Greenway, K Webster, M Anderon Thomas, N Prothero; C Hughes, S Jones; M Davies, M Reardon, E Hill, A Pyrs, T Vucaj, E Jones, A Owen, B King©. Subs used: M Crabb, C Cuming, J Scoble, L Terry, C Pearce, K Bevans, I McMullen, C Lewis.
Referee: David Young
Scorers –
Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Phimister, Walker, Bell; Cons: Ainsworth 2.
Gwalia Lightning: Tries: Vucaj, Reardon, Greenway 3; Cons: Hughes 3.
Scoring sequence (Glasgow Warriors first): 5-0; 5-0; 5-7 (h-t) 10-7; 12-7; 12-12; 17-12; 19-12; 19-17; 19-19; 19-24; 19-29; 19-31.
Player-of-the-match: Gwalia Lightning winger Courtney Greenway scored a second-half hat-trick to turn the game around and secure victory for her team.
Talking point: Decision-making and ball retention continue to undermine Glasgow’s performances. They showed promise but couldn’t hold on in the final stages for an 80-minute performance.