The Hills Blog

Hills travelled to Dundee for their first away trip of the season without the skills of outstanding no.10 Julie Craig. Craig, who played a central role in the defeat of RHC, was back home on the Emerald Isle representing Leinster in the Interpro competition which forms the basis of selection into the Ireland squad. Also unable to travel on the day was Coach Kitch and so stepping up to the plate was French Supremo (and boyfriend of Moggs) Louis LeGrende.

The match was played in torrid conditions that were not conducive to Hills usual style of wide expansive silky rugby (ahem….). The forwards took it upon themselves to ’show the backs how it is done’ and crossed for 8 of the teams 12 tries. Susie ‘I’ve got to score loads today as I’m missing the next 5 games’ Brown was responsible for 6 of them with her hat-trick coming within the first 10 minutes.

After losing the toss the visitors were faced with playing into the fierce wind and therefore, dictated by the conditions, played up the jumper rugby. The first 2 tries came from scrums where the Hills showed their total dominance allowing no.8 Susie a solid platform from which to work. The front row dream team of Heather ‘HRL’ Lockhart, Kerry ‘once again off the wagon’ Armstrong and Lindsey ‘Smithers’ Smith scrummaged hard and generated repeated turn over ball. In the ‘row’ was Rebekah ’sit down’ Sibenaler, who was once again outstanding and Catherine ‘don’t make me down anything’ McGrenera. The forwards were completed by the back row trio of Kirsty ‘raf’ Meredith, Fiona ‘I’m slowly working my way back to the front row; at least I’m not still on the wing’ Reardon and Brown.

Hills third try was an altogether more classy affair after some great work from the kick off, quick ruck ball allowed the ball to be distributed from no.9 Caroline to no.4 Catherine who put Susie into space allowing her to ’show and go’ and touch down under the posts.

Not wanting to miss out on the action HRL touched down in typical HRL style after some good hard rucking left the ball open at the back of the ruck for her to do what she does best and power over for the first of her brace.

The switching of ends at half time brought the backs into their own. With the forwards reluctantly releasing their strangle hold on the game, balls supplied by no.9 Caroline enabled play to be expertly dictated by Steph Johnstone who had stepped into the no.10 jersey from her usual inside centre position. Her tactical awareness and her kicking ability forced play deep into the Dundee 22 where constant Hills pressure forced turnover ball which allowed repeated attacks to be launched. Good interlinking between Charlie ‘navy’ Lewis and Rhianne ‘youngster’ Boag saw the 17 yr old cross for her first Hills try which caused much delight for the travelling team. The back three also played their part in the victory with strong running as ever from no.15 Hazel Belinski who was delighted to get on the score sheet near the end. Her score was well deserved after her arching run sliced through the home defence allowing her to dive over under the posts. Wings Sarah ‘Canada’ Tomb and Manners worked tirelessly and Sarah Canada was rewarded for her efforts with a score in the right hand corner. Notable for her offensive defence was Fiona who put in a series of hard hits putting the home side under pressure. The backs chipped in with another score, this time a well timed pass from Johnston put no.12 Lewis into space and her strong running beat 3 defenders allowing her to touch down just wide of the posts.

The tireless running and hardwork of HRL was rewarded with another score and Brown crossed for her other 3 at various points in the game.

Once again in fine form with the boot was Kerry Armstrong who, in particularly blustery conditions, converted 7 of the 12 tries.

Final score 7-74.

Pick of the bunch were Steph for her playmaking skills and Rebekah for her general awesomeness. Dundee deserve credit for sticking admirably to their tough task and for blooding some new freshers in a tough match.

A week off means the Hills girls are next in action in a tough match away to Kirkcaldy on the 2nd November.

The ladies second outing of the season began with an overwhelming sense of deja vu when Royal High stormed up the pitch to cross for a try in the first minute of the game. Good interlinking between their no.10 Tanya Griffith, and no.12 Ronnie Fitzpatrick, put outside centre Cara D’Silva in to touch down in the top left hand corner. Conversion missed 0-5.

A rallying call from inspirational Captain Heather ‘HRL’ Lockhart meant the girls came out from under the posts with a renewed sense of purpose and set about their task with refreshed vigour. Desperate to shake of the cobwebs from their previous defeat the front eight worked hard to cope with the heavy RHC pack. The home sides continued pressure was rewarded with two penalties which were expertly kicked by Kerry Armstrong whose right boot was on fine form. 6-5.

Hills took the lead after a good tackle by number 8, Susie Brown created turnover ball which was quickly distributed by new no.9 Caroline ‘German’ Muellenbroich to the outstanding Craig who drew and passed to Sarah ‘Canada’ Tomb who expertly touched down. Conversion missed 11-5.

RHC were reduced to 14 after an injury to Jilly ‘CSC’ McCord who was forced off with a bad knee injury. This forced a re-shuffle in the RHC pack and allowed Hills to begin to dominate all forward play. Despite this Hills were guilty of resting on their laurels and were caught napping after lazy defending from the back of the lineout left space on the right hand side for Cara D’Silva to skip over and touch down. Conversion by Claire Fergusson. 11-12.

After a stiff talking to at half time by Coach Kitch and Rach, Hills started the second half playing down the hill. Craig’s exquisite kicking kept RHC pinned in their half. The travelling sides brief forays into Hills territory were quickly snuffed out by the strong defensive work of no.12 Steph Johnston, no.13 and debutant Rhianne Boag and winger Sarah Canada. A strong scrum platform enabled no.8 Susie Brown to cross for the first of her brace after she picked and went route one down the blindside to increase the Westenders lead to 16-12. Conversion missed.

Hills next try was made by the ever consistent Hazel Belinski who fielded a kick from RHC and cut through the chasing defence. Pick and go specialist HRL did what she does best from the ruck and hit a hard line, eventually straightening to put Brown in for Hills 3rd try to increase the home sides lead to 21-12. Conversion missed.

Hills maintained the pressure and forced another penalty which was converted from a wide angle by Kerry ‘on the wagon’ Armstrong.

Notable mention must go to Rebekah ’sit down’ Sibenaler whose debut on the rugby union field was highly impressive. Her ability to create go forward ball and her confidence under high balls means she is a welcome addition to the Hills pack.

Final Score 24-12.

After the match Captain HRL commented ‘the side showed real character to bounce back from the defeat by Murrayfield and this victory will hopefully set the tone for the rest of our season.’

Players of the match were Susie Brown and Julie Craig although the whole team deserved a pint after the effort exhibited from all involved.

The ladies lost out to a well drilled Murrayfield Wanderers side in their first outing of the season. The new shape side struggled to find any consistency and were punished by the pace of the Murrayfield backline who triumphed 50-0. Pick of the bunch for the West end side was Hazel Belinski who at full back put in a series of crunching hits. Huge thanks go to Alan Cahoon who stepped up to take over as coach for the day.

Another positive note was the large home support that turned up to cheer the ladies on. Increased numbers may well have been down to the fact that people were attempting to clear their heads (forgot what they had seen?!) from the previous night. The inaugural ‘Miss Hughenden’ competition took place on Saturday hosted by the dynamic club captain duo of Stuart Rose and Cammy McCulloch. Rose was ravishing dressed in a slimming floor length black number where McCulloch looked like an extra from a 70s porn movie.

The contestants were an eclectic bunch with the forwards and backs equally represented. Notable mentions must go to Ed whose face was a picture when he realised his partner for the positions round (and no, we are not talking rugby) was in fact head coach Keith Robertson. Also worth a mention were Ally Wright and Robbie ‘Ching Mai’ Williamson who had put in special effort in the lingerie round in their matching Primark outfits. Unforgettable (unfortunately) moment of the night had to be awarded to Tom and Mr Bernie Mitchell for their back of the room rendezvous which will forever be etched in the minds of those who bore witness to it. All photographic evidence of the evening contain images too senstive for this website.

The after show party continued with DJs Vinnie and mini-vinnie keeping the crowd entertained with all the disco classics.

The evening also marked physio Cara Darlington’s last home game of the season. She will be sorely missed at the club and we wish her success in her new post at Hamilton RFC.

The Ladies have their second outing of the season on Sunday where they are taking on Royal High at Hughenden at 2pm. A new look back line, including reinforcements in the pack from the Southern Hemisphere mean the girls are shaping up for a strong team performance.