02/09/2026
Dave Duguid, the Garioch Ladies RFC head coach, knows it will be tough but he believes his side has the capabilities to compete in the Arnold Clark Premiership ahead of the new season starting at the weekend.
Last year was a tricky one for the Kellands Park outfit from Inverurie in the top flight, finishing bottom after stage one and stage two.
That meant that they had to go into the Regional Play-Off Series where they then managed to regroup and win that mini event to preserve their place in the league.
This year the team that finishes bottom in the eight-team Premiership will go down automatically because there is now a National League in place.
As a result, every game is important for Garioch starting with Watsonians away on Saturday while, with the change season in format, they are also back in the Sarah Beaney Cup for 2026-27.
And back at the helm is Duguid.
He was the head coach up until the end of the 2024-25 season, but was not involved last year.
“When there became an opportunity to come back in as head coach I put my hand up and luckily the club said yes,” Duguid explained.
“Last year was a bit of stop-start for a number of reason, but hopefully this year is a bit of a reset year and we can build from solid foundations.
“Pre-season has been good and everyone is pulling in the same direction so I am definitely looking forward to this year.
“We know the quality the likes of Stirling County, Watsonians and others in the Premiership have, but the Premiership is where we want to be as a club and we want to continue punching above our weight and representing the north-east as best as we can.
“We know we have good players who can play good rugby, but, whether it's within a game or over different games, we’ve not been able to string consistency together in the past.
“We have had phases in games where we show that we can definitely compete, but it's just about putting it all together into 80-minute performances.
“I am hopeful that we can do that this year.”
One thing that Garioch do not lack is team spirit and Duguid wants the players to harness that togetherness on the pitch to help them dig in for important results.
“Sometimes we are on the end of some tough defeats, but the girls’ heads never go down and with Sammy Ross as captain this year I think she will make sure that the environment is always good and that everyone is enjoying being part of something they enjoy,” he stated.
“We know that we won’t win every game, but if we can find some consistency in our performances and make it tricky for sides when they come up the road to Kellands Park then we can give ourselves a chance.
“Sometimes we lose players to relocation and such like and we always have to ‘go again’, but it is a privilege to be in the Premiership and we want to stay here.”
* A version of this article first appeared in The Press and Journal on Wednesday *
