Chopper’s double header

Boroughmuir’s assistant player-coach, Lee “Chopper” Pettett, will have two away games against the Glasgow students in the space of four days.

The burly Aussie centre is also the play-caller for Edinburgh University who face Glasgow in the British Universities Premier North Division at the Kelvin Hall on Wednesday.

Neither Scottish team have won a game yet after three rounds of the league and relegation beckons for one of them, though there were welcome signs of improvement from both in their matches this week.

Glasgow lost 79-62 at home to Worcester Wolves, while Edinburgh were defeated 75-49 away to the powerful Leeds Carnegie team who had already beaten Glasgow in Glasgow.

“We were within five points of Leeds in the third quarter and had them on the ropes, but lack of fitness and composure cost us in the fourth,” said Pettett. “But there were many positives to take from it.”

Edinburgh women, so secure in their North Premier status last season, may also have a struggle on their hands to avoid relegation, though they will take comfort from the poor results so far from Sheffield Hallam.

Edinburgh, with only seven players, lost 91-36 this week to a Loughborough team bolstered by Scottish internationalist Gillian Baird. But Capital coach Jim Mitchell insisted he was encouraged by the performance of the seven.