This weekend is an exciting one for the club as we have both men's and women's first teams competing in European Play-off semi-finals. Both teams are at home on Saturday, the boys host Grange (1400) while the girls welcome Edinburgh University (1600), and we anticipate a big crowd at Auchenhowie to cheer the sides on.
Speaking today, Harry was obviously relishing the tie while acknowledging the challenge posed by Grange. "They are sitting a convincing second in the league whilst we are sitting a clear third with eight points between us," he pointed out. "I expect to have to do something special to beat them over two games and that’s what we have been working on since the end of the league fixtures."
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"I think it is realty important to take Western to Europe, From my previous experiences of coaching Western in Europe I know how much they learn and improve from the experience so I really keen to take this side there. However, we must focus entirely on these two games and not get ahead of ourselves. At one level there is the challenge in simply managing the format of a two-legged tie and ensuring that we are still alive on the Sunday."
Western take a full squad into the weekend.
Kaz was upbeat ahead of the girls' games. "This has been a fantastic season and I believe that we are in the play-offs on merit," she said. "It is a first for the team and the girls are all geared up for it. There certainly hasn't been a lack of intensity in training."
"Edinburgh University are a first class side - their record this season proves that - and we know that they are clear favourites. However, we have absolutely nothing to lose here. We have worked very hard all season for this opportunity and we will give everything we have in both games."
On Sunday each team travels to Edinburgh for the second leg of their tie. The men are at Fettes College (1400) while the women are at Peffermill (1430).
The only other team in action are the Men's 4s who round off their season with a trip to title-chasing Dumfries.
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