WANDERERS Ladies enjoyed their first outing of 2015 on Sunday when they attended Penicuik Rugby Club in the outskirts of Edinburgh to compete in the latest SRU National Development League event.

A total of 52 girls attended the tournament, 15 of them from Wanderers, in what was a bitterly cold afternoon and one which exposed the ladies to the harsh realities of Scottish winter rugby.

Owing to the conditions, the astro turf park was used along with one playable pitch and, despite the freezing conditions, an entertaining afternoon’s rugby resulted for the assembled enthusiasts.

Captain Caitlyn Haldane led her side, which consisted of mainly forwards due to the non-availability of some key players in the back division, but the Greenock girls did themselves proud once again, winning two of their challenge matches and suffering a narrow defeat in the third.

The locals’ first game against Annan was moved to the astro turf surface and was downgraded to a touch-rugby match which Wanderers adapted to well.

A Steph Ward try was the difference between the sides as Greenock won by one try to nil.

The second fixture was full contact back on the more familiar grass pitch against a combined Edinburgh side and the locals once more posted another winning display.

Rachel Morrison was the catalyst for the victory, with some excellent sniping runs around the contact zone, while debutant Christina Hemphill impressed with some rampaging runs and fine handling skills to show that she will be a valuable addition to the squad.

Seonaid Knox, who had just returned from the USA, also posted a fine performance and in truth the locals were good value for their two-try victory.

Rachel Morrison notched the first try and captain Haldane secured the victory with a fine long-range effort during which she showed impressive speed to outsprint the cover defence.

Wanderers’ third tie of the series was a rematch with Annan but some injuries weakened the squad, and the dearth of backs proved decisive and gave the Borderers the advantage.

The three tries to two defeat was close though, with Colette Cameron and Lauren Gunn scoring for Wanderers.

This was another valuable exercise for the Greenock girls in their continuing development.

Several more tournaments and events are planned in the near future, with the possibility of a four-team round-robin competition being considered for Fort Matilda in early March.

As always the Telegraph will be reporting on the pioneering work of the local ladies team as they strive to gain admittance to mainstream competition in the Scottish Women’s Rugby Union.

Wanderers are sponsored by Texas Instruments.