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| CAITHNESS 8 -FORRESTER 18 by Iain Grant |
| Fri 26th Oct 2007 |
This fifth straight defeat leaves Caithness mired just above the red zone in Scottish Hydro Electric National League Division 2.
Coach Jim MacMillan nonetheless took a lot of pluses from a gutsy reverse against a side who have designs on moving up a league.
He took heart from a performance which was streets ahead of recent feckless displays in which they have gone down tamely to mediocre opponents.
The Greens on Saturday lost out by a goal, a try and two penalties to a try and a penalty in a match which marked their return to Millbank.
Playing on the top pitch, Forrester were well contained in a first half and the visitors were happy to have their noses in front at the interval.
Caithness took heart from taking the lead through a penalty potted by Gary Mackay, back playing at fly-half.
His counterpart Alan Panther edged his side to an interval advantage by slotting two penalties.
The Edinburgh side played with a confidence born of having lost just once this season.
A well-organised, mobile pack and some sparky strike runners among their high numbers fully tested the Greens’ defensive lines.
They were for the most part not found wanting, with the combination of Norman Foubister and Graham Fryer giving a much-needed solidity to their midfield.
Fryer epitomised the fortitude of the home effort with the centre playing despite being unwell.
One area where surprisingly the Greens struggled was the line-out when a combination of poor delivery and mistiming meant they failed to win possession at seven of their own throws.
Forrester crossed early in the second half when a tackle turnover as the prelude to replacement prop David Allan going over for a try, converted by Alan Panther.
Midway through the half, Forrester crossed again after one of the line-out faux pas gave quality possession to the visitors.
Quick hands from the visiting half-backs Alan and Craig Panther and a double miss pass to full-back Craig Bradford created the overlap to send winger Stuart Fulton over.
In previous weeks, that could have precipitated a cave-in by the Greens but not on Saturday.
They battled their way back into the game and deserved more than the late unconverted try they scored through replacement David Pottinger.
Number eight Evan Sutherland and winger James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair created the opening with Pottinger making the final yards to the line after picking up from the base of a ruck.
Despite the defeat, coach MacMillan sensed the return of something of a feel-good factor in the camp.
“The whole thing was an awful lot better,” said the veteran prop.
“I think if we had two or three performances like that under our belt before Saturday, we could have beaten Forrester.
“To have run Forrester pretty close gave some of our young guys a real boost.
“Their heads had been down on the back of two or three really dismal defeats.
“Saturday’s game was a boost for them. You might have thought they had won – they were really chuffed.”
MacMillan said a couple of poor decisions in defence let Forrester in for their tries.
Apart from these isolated lapses and the line-out gremlins, it had been a
good day at the office, albeit one which leaves the club embedded in the relegation zone.
The coach is hoping the squad can build on the display to climb their way up the table.
“Hopefully, this can be a turning point for us and make the guys realise that we can play good rugby and compete with the top sides in the league,” he said.
Skipper Ewen Boyd and Foubister are unavailable for tomorrow’s match in Linlithgow but back Blair McIntosh will rejoin the squad.
Caithness: James ‘Pop’ Sinclair, J. Paterson, N. Foubister, G. Fryer, James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair, G. Mackay, K. Hamilton, S. Duval, S. Dunnett, R. Pottinger, E. Boyd (cpt.), A. Morris, G. Anderson, E. Sutherland, D. Gordon.
Replacements – (all used) – C. Smith, D. Lewis-Saunders and D. Pottinger.
Forrester – C. Bradford, S. Fulton, J. Hurst, S. Roseburgh (cpt), S. Broadfoot, A. Panther, C. Panther, I. Beveridge, D. Moffat, R. Merrilees, G. Smith, E. Brodie, D. Dingwall, G. Joss, R. Davidson. Replacements (all used) – S. Edmondson, D. Allan and A. Best.
Caithness dropped to tenth in the league after being leapfrogged by Glasgow Accies following the city side’s 43-14 defeat of bottom-placed Stewartry.
At the other end of the table, Howe of Fife sustained their storming start in reeling off their eighth straight win – a 30-19 win at Kilmarnock.
Highland remain in the promotion frame after returning to winning ways with a comfortable 32-10 home success over Linlithgow.
Last year’s NLD3 champions Dumfries moved up a place into fourth following their 28-3 eclipse of Grangemouth while Newton Stewart returned south with a 26-12 win over Allan Glens.
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| 1st XV Season (2009/10) |
| Kilmarnock 81 - 5 Caithness |
| 17th Apr 10 - KO: 12:00 |
| Venue: Bellsland |
| :: Match Report |
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness vs Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
| :: More Fixtures |
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