|
|
 |
| CAITHNESS 20 - KILMARNOCK 9 by Iain Grant |
| Fri 12th Jan 2007 |
Two first half tries proved decisive as the Greens completed a National League Division 2 double over their Ayrshire visitors.
Hard graft and unstinting endeavour were present in spades in Saturday’s tussle at Millbank.
But a lack of craft and invention made for an encounter which combatants and spectators would wish to quickly delete from their memory banks.
On the basis of the two clashes, Kilmarnock appear wedded to an unreconstructed, one-dimensional interpretation of the game.
An up-and-at-them mentality with ball in hand is, in itself, useful when used as a means to an end.
It is very limited when it is used - as the visitors did on Saturday - as an end in itself.
Killie coach Paul Meehan recognised the shortcoming in claiming that his side had more than enough possession to win the match had they shown more variation in their play.
The Greens were rewarded for their greater adventure and commitment to a more expansive game in a first half, which saw them 20-3 ahead.
They may well have then been eyeing what would have been their first winning bonus point since their home victory over Duns at the end of September.
But their sights were soon reset to holding on to their lead as the visitors turned the screw to apply intense pressure throughout the second half.
Very seldom in their own half, their pack took control and in the process squeezed the life out of the game in terms of entertainment.
Time and again, relentless drives in the Caithness 22 looked set to go all the way, only for them to be thwarted by a crucial fumble or a sterling piece of last-ditch defence.
Meehan was unhappy that the heavy penalty count against the home troops did not count against them numerically until nine minutes from time when their persistent offending led to the sin-binning of Evan Sutherland.
The coach may have a case though it has to be said that ref Alan MacLean showed a similarly laissez faire attitude to Kilmarnock’s repeated collapsing of opposition mauls in the first period.
The Greens were boosted by the return of fly-half Michael Henderson from a three month spell on the sidelines.
He helped his side enjoy a brisk opening which exposed their opponents’ frailties in defence.
Flanker George Sutherland’s early break from stolen line-out ball fizzled out for lack of support at the contact point.
Kilmarnock’s unsettling start was not helped by a succession of chargedowns of their South Africa stand-off’s Wiann Venter’s would-be clearance kicks.
The last in a series of infringements at the breakdown by the visitors allowed Henderson to land his first successful kick of the day.
In command at the line-out, Caithness scorned a number of good attacking positions, with the greasy ball contributing to a number of wayward passes.
In what proved a penalty-littered contest, Venter levelled the scores after Caithness offended on their 10 metre line.
Midway through the half, the Greens drew ahead thanks to a well-worked try.
The Sangster brothers, Duncan and Andrew, exchanged passes before the latter’s strong break down the right flank saw him break three tackles before releasing James ‘Pop’ Sinclair on a clear run to the line.
Ten minutes later, Kilmarnock were again gathering under the posts after conceding a second touchdown.
Venter will recall the prequel with no great relish as it involved his feckless kick under pressure just outside his 22.
The effort ricocheted into the hands of James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair with George Sutherland and Evan Sutherland providing the links before Andrew Sangster stormed over in the left-hand corner.
Henderson’s second successful conversion stretched the lead to 17-3.
Shortly before the interval, a neat chip ahead by Henderson and a swift follow-up chase led to home full-back Andrew Pollock being pinged for not releasing on the deck.
Henderson duly nailed his second penalty.
Earlier, the Greens lost Duncan Sangster with a nose gash, which led to Kris Hamilton coming on, initially at centre, though later reverting to full-back after Duncan Sangster’s return to the fray after the interval.
Kilmarnock pinned their colours to the mast with a juggernaut rumble from the restart kick and this was to be their tried and trusted practice for just about the remainder of the game.
To be fair, it proved very effective in gobbling up yards and forcing penalties.
The penalties were kicked down the line which were a prelude to yet more protracted drives.
The momentum built up in several rolling mauls in the third quarter would certainly have led to tries but for sloppy losses of control within breathing distance of the line.
The second came after a particularly uncomfortable spell for the Greens, corralled deep in their own territory.
The siege was relieved from the five metre scrum with a stirring pick and go from Evan Sutherland which took play up to his side’s 10 metre line.
Caithness however were continuing to give away penalties at an alarming rate as they sought to stem the onslaught.
After 63 minutes, the visitors, somewhat oddly, opted to kick for goal despite trailing by 17 points.
The decision was made to look even more perverse when Venter’s kick faded past the near post.
But the stand-off was given a reprieve after James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair’s charge of the penalty was rightly penalised and Venter made the necessary adjustment to land the retake.
Kilmarnock’s back three were largely redundant in attack with what little ball which reached the midfield tending to be taken up by the centres.
Pollock showed he is no slouch, with one intervention midway through the half almost leading to a try.
The full-back featured again after 66 minutes, leading a counter-attack from deep in his own 22.
With several colleagues in close attendance, it looked ominous for the Greens until Pollock ignored the claims of unmarked winger David Erskine outside him, instead trying to bullock through the last defender, Kris Hamilton.
The diminutive teenager levelled the full-back with a classic, wipe-out tackle, with several Greens arriving quickly enough to force a penalty after Pollock failed to release on the deck.
The pattern soon reverted to the Caithness eight putting their bodies on the line to resist a mind-numbing series of muscular, collective surges.
A line-out offence 10 minutes from time enabled Venter to kick his third penalty of the day to reduce the home lead to 20-9.
A minute later, the Greens had no cause for complaint when Evan Sutherland took the rap for persistent offending by his side.
The flanker was forced to watch from the sidelines as his side displayed a mix of grit and nous to ensure their line remained unbreached.
A line-out steal by Andy Morris late on provided welcome respite as Kilmarnock’s pummelling of the line went unrewarded.
Afterwards, Meehan said: "It was disappointing to go home with nothing.
"I thought we had more possession and the penalty count in our favour must have been astronomical - it must have been something like four to one.
"We had the opportunities to score but did not show enough invention or do enough with the possession we had.
"Caithness had fewer chances but when came, they took them."
Caithness coach Colin Sangster was happy with the win and with how his charges managed to keep their line intact.
He said: "I thought we played quite well in the first half.
"Apart from the tries, we had a couple of other decent chances to cross their line.
"We had to face a lot of pressure in the second half when I thought we defended very well, particularly round the fringes."
Having endured the match in Kilmarnock, which he rated the worst game of rugby he has seen, the coach was prepared for the confrontational style which his opponents favour.
"Their game plan was basically crash, bang, wallop and a series of drives before the ball went to the stand-off who kicked for touch.
"We struggled to get ball in the second half and found it difficult to get out of off our own half."
Tomorrow, Caithness will be looking to further bolster their league position by extending the season’s winless run of Duns.
The coach is however keen to keep his squad firmly focused on the game plan against the bottom side, who are a long odds-on bet to occupy the single relegation spot.
"They just lost 7-6 to Stewartry, who beat us in our previous game in a match we should have won.
"Hopefully we’ll have learnt lessons from that but any game away from home in this league is not easy."
Duncan Sangster is unavailable because of university commitments while Graham Fryer, James Hamilton and James ‘Pop’ Sinclair are back offshore.
William Mill is also a doubt but Ewen Boyd and Blair McIntosh are set to return to the squad.
Caithness - R. Mackay, James ‘Pop’ Sinclair, D. Sangster, W. Mill, James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair, M. Henderson, G. Fryer, T. Sutherland, S. Campbell, S. Dunnett, A. Morris, J. Hamilton, G. Sutherland, A. Sangster, E. Sutherland. Replacements - J. Foubister, K. Hamilton and A. Campbell (all used).
|
| Back to News |
|
 |
|
|
|
| Hawick YM |
2 |
10 |
| Kilmarnock |
2 |
9 |
| Waysiders Drumpellier |
2 |
9 |
| Glasgow Accies |
2 |
7 |
| Berwick |
2 |
6 |
| Annan |
2 |
5 |
| Highland |
2 |
5 |
| Aberdeenshire |
2 |
4 |
| Stewartry |
2 |
4 |
| Caithness |
2 |
3 |
| Newton Stewart |
2 |
1 |
| Alan Glens |
2 |
0 |
|
 |
| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness 25 - 27 Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
 |
| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Stewartry vs Caithness |
| 11th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Greenlaw |
| :: More Fixtures |
|
