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| CAITHNESS 29 - HAWICK YM 8 by Iain Grant |
| Thu 20th Oct 2005 |
 The Greens successfully negotiated the first of a trio of assignments which could make or break their audacious bid to secure three promotions in just four seasons.
The original objective of consolidation in BT National League Division 3 has been upgraded on the back of their performance over the first third of the campaign.
Coach Colin Sangster believes three wins would lay a very strong platform from which to make a real tilt at becoming one of the country's top 50 clubs.
They achieved the first leg of the treble on Saturday without playing as well as they would have wished.
That they won with a bonus point was due in part to opportunist finishing and partly to the rank indiscipline of the Border outfit.
Two of the visitors, who revel in the nickname of the Redskins, left their side short-handed in the second half for verbal tomahawks they directed at ref Alan MacLean.
Having got on the wrong side of Mr MacLean, Hawick YM did themselves no favours with regular histrionics and shows of dissent all too often losing them hard-won territory and possession.
The visitors were also forced into a major early reshuffle after stand-off Steven Anderson retired with a damaged hamstring.
On their second visit to Millbank, they had hardly time to draw breath before they found themselves a try behind.
William Mill touched down what was one of the fastest ever touchdowns at the ground -- 18 seconds after YM had kicked off.
After the ball was gathered and kicked deep into opposition territory, full-back Gregor Walsh fatally dithered after fielding the ball.
His eventual decision to boot clear was anticipated by Mill -- starting on the left wing -- and he charged it down before picking up to score under the posts.
Michael Henderson landed the conversion.
Often an ultra-early score can send the wrong messages to the scoring side and conversely gee up their opponents.
So it proved on Saturday as YM produced an impressive riposte that fully tested the Greens' defence.
One charge led by number eight Ryan Hogg forced a penalty which Welsh converted to reduce the leeway to 7-3 after seven minutes.
There was little to choose between the sides for the first quarter with both seeking to throw the ball wide when the opportunity presented.
Jamie 'Pop' Sinclair was almost set free through the middle on a pre-arranged three-quarter move with Anderson's scything tackle probably preventing a score.
There was then a major scare at the other end of the field when a chip through at the swimming pool end saw Stuart Chalmers and Welsh just denied after Henderson got back to beat them to the ball in-goal.
Caithness drew further ahead on 19 minutes with a superb diagonal break by Russell Mill from a line-out being carried on by William Mill and David Pottinger.
While the forward momentum was arrested when Pottinger was brought to ground, quick recycling against a back-tracking defence saw the ball spun across the breadth of the park to allow Steven Campbell a free run to the line.
The young hooker was almost in again six minutes later when a blindside break ended with him on another dash for the line.
On this occasion, YM scrum-half Bruce Campbell got across to prevent the score with a suspiciously high straight- arm tackle which floored his name-sake and dislodged the ball.
Had Mr MacLean deemed the challenge illegal, he would have had to award a penalty try.
The Greens were comfortably ahead in line-outs where they had just about 100% success on their own ball and, thanks largely to the pressure exerted at the front from Ewen Boyd, either pirated or disrupted at least half of YM's throw-ins.
The scrums were evently contested but the visitors had an undoubted edge at the breakdowns.
Caithness were penalised three or four times for not releasing on the ground through a combination of opposition pressure and lack of early support.
YM should have scored two minutes from the interval when replacement Andy Renwick spilled a pass from Anderson with the line at his mercy.
The visitors proceeded to lose a man and three points through a piece of petty petulance.
A scrum in the YM 22 was converted into a penalty when Welsh angrily threw the ball out of the park.
Henderson spliced the posts with his third successful kick of the day.
Flanker Alan Douglas' subsequent whine at Mr MacLean saw him yellow-carded and play restarting with a Caithness penalty.
After the half-time break, the Greens quickly set about adding to their 17-3 advantage.
They duly did so on 46 minutes after William Mill made the initial break.
Once again, quick ball from the ensuing pile-up was the key, with scrum-half Graham Fryer switching play and Boyd's astute inside pass sending in Campbell for his eighth try of the season.
Henderson added the extras to leave YM three converted tries behind.
YM were restored to full strength, only to promptly lose Walsh to the sin-bin for his bout of dissent.
Caithness were in full control and close-in surges saw Fryer almost over before William Mill was denied a touchdown after he was adjudged to have stepped in touch after being released by Richard Mackay.
The fourth try eventually arrived 12 minutes from time when Mackay sparked a counter-attack move with Boyd's long pass giving the width to enable Duncan Sangster to ghost over from 20 metres.
Henderson missed the conversion to end the day with a 80% success record.
YM finished the game with a flourish and both Nick Borthwick and Bruce Campbell had gone close before the latter passed to allow replacement Glyn Davies to elude Pottinger's desperate last-ditch tackle to touch down in the left-hand corner.
Coach Sangster was happy to get the win which keeps the Greens within two points of leaders Falkirk.
He said: "I thought we scored three really good tries. The first was opportunist but the rest were very well worked.
"One area where we did struggle a bit was at the contact point."
Sangster was happy the other results in the division worked in his side's favour and he is now targeting a win on the road tomorrow at Newton Stewart.
The forwards are likely to be unchanged for what is just about the longest hike possible from Caithness to a club on the mainland.
The backs are weakened with Russell Mill joining James Mill and Jamie Begg on the injury list and Jamie 'Pigeon' Sinclair unavailable.
Winger Brett Morris is set for his first competitive outing of the campaign while centre Hamish Boyd could also make a return.
Caithness -- R. Mackay, James 'Pop' Sinclair, R. Mill, D. Sangster, W. Mill, M. Henderson, G. Fryer, J. MacMillan, S. Campbell, J. Foubister, E. Boyd, A. Morris (cpt), E. Sutherland, A. Sangster, D. Pottinger. Replacements (all used) -- James 'Pigeon' Sinclair, R. Gray and D. Buchanan.
Hawick YM -- G. Welsh, S. Chalmers, D. Murphy, S. Welsh, S. Anderson, G. Renwick, B. Campbell, R. Borthwick, A. Johnson, T. Lothian, K. Millar, R. Trimby, A. Douglas, R. Hogg, N. Borthwick. Replacements (used) -- A. Renwick and G. Davies.
Ref -- Mr A. MacLean, Fearn,
Falkirk continue to make the running in the league, with their 47-5 defeat over Whitecraigs their fifth straight win since their opening day defeat at Millbank.
Highland lost an injury-time converted try to allow Lismore to snatch a 24-24 draw at Inverness.
Glenrothes finally got on the scoreboard with a 12-12 draw at home to Trinity Accies while Helensburgh kept up their 100% home record with a 17-0 defeat of Newton Stewart.
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness vs Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
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| :: More Fixtures |
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