The newly-formed Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh women’s teams will play their first competitive match against each other at the end of the month - just hours before the men’s sides play the second leg of their 1872 Cup double-header.
The game at Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium will kick off at noon, while the men’s match gets under way at 3pm next door at the national stadium. The fixture will be a first-round match in the newly-expanded Celtic Challenge tournament, which will also include two teams from Ireland - the Wolfhounds and the Clovers - and two from Wales - Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning. Each team will play five games in a mini-league before three play-off rounds decide who will be this season’s champions.
The Celtic Challenge began last season with just one team from each of the three countries. Scotland’s representatives were called the Thistles, and essentially functioned as a home-based shadow side to the national team.
The Warriors’ home games will be at Scotstoun. Details of the coaching teams and playing squads of both new Scots sides will be announced shortly.
Announcing the new teams yesterday, Gemma Fay, the head of Scottish Rugby’s Women’s & Girls’ Strategy, said she was confident that the existing Edinburgh and Glasgow officials would welcome the women’s teams into their clubs. “The decision to align our Celtic Challenge teams to Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors presents a fantastic opportunity to provide our two teams with a strong individual identity and sense of belonging, whilst also tapping into each club’s current fan base,” she said. “I know that [Warriors managing director] Al Kellock, [Edinburgh MD] Doug Struth and their colleagues will do a great job in making our teams and their management feel part of their clubs.”
Kellock added: “We’re extremely excited to be able to expand our club with the launch of our first-ever women’s team. We look forward to sharing more details about our team in the next few weeks.”
Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors fixtures:
Round one: Edinburgh v Glasgow (Hive, Sat 30 Dec, noon).
Round two: Edinburgh v Wolfhounds (Hive, Sat 6 Jan, 2pm), Gwalia Lightning v Glasgow (Sun 7 Jan, 1.30pm, Cardiff Arms Park)
Round three: Glasgow v Wolfhounds (Scotstoun, Sat 13 Jan, 2pm), Brython Thunder v Edinburgh (Parc Y Scarlets, Sun 14 Jan, 1.30pm).
Round four: Glasgow v Clovers (Scotstoun, Sat 27 Jan, 2pm), Gwalia Lightning v Edinburgh (Cardiff Arms Park, Sun 28 Jan, 1.30pm).
Round five: Edinburgh v Clovers (Hive, Sat 3 Feb, 12.30pm), Brython Thunder v Glasgow (Parc Eirias, Sat 3 Feb, 2.30pm).
