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| FIRST-MINUTE TRY HERALDS RECORD NATIONAL LEAGUE DEFEAT by Iain Grant |
| Fri 23rd Apr 2010 |
Caithness suffered a merciless mauling at Bellsland on Saturday when they slumped to their heaviest ever National League reverse.
A rudderless display saw them ship 12 tries to slick opponents who had the fourth, bonus point try safely pouched by the end of the first quarter.
It has been a particularly long NLD2 campaign and the Greens looked not so much jaded as dead on their feet as they sought to limit the damage.
The outcome was particularly surprising given that the travelling squad was one of the strongest of the season.
Caithness coach Colin Sangster said the rot set in after they conceded a try within the first minute.
“There was a catalogue of errors starting with us not making the 10 metres with the kick-off," he said. “We then let them penetrate our back line too easily and then after turning over possession, we conceded a scrum from which they scored with a simple back row move.”
The coach added: “When you travel away against a side that are clearly up for it and lose a try like that right at the start, you need a bit of character to recover. We didn’t capitulate but when we got the ball, we just couldn’t retain it for any time.
“We had no continuity at all and regularly handed the initiative back to them and they made the most of it.”
Kilmarnock’s pacy back three caused problems all day but the Greens high quota of missed tackles kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Sangster said: “As the game wore on, we tired badly and massive gaps opened up in our defence, which they fully exploited.”
The visitors’ sole crumb of comfort came with teenage flanker Christopher Simpson’s try near the turnaround.
The final score was Kilmarnock 81 Caithness 5.
Reflecting on the season, Sangster said Caithness were very competitive for the first half of the campaign when but for several narrow defeats, they would have firmly in contention for promotion.
Injuries and a lack of depth to their playing pool blighted the second half, resulting in them finishing seventh
He looks enviously at the resources of Saturday’s opponents who run two senior XVs as well as an over-35s and a full junior set-up.
Tomorrow, Caithness start their truncated sevens season with a trip to Banff.
Caithness – G. Mackay, D. McCarthy, B. McIntosh (cpt), J. Sinclair, G. Macleod, L. Brims, K. Hamilton, S. Dunnett, B. More, T. Sutherland, S. McCarthy, J. Miller, C. Simpson, A. Sangster, E. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) – M. Nicolson, M. Oswald and M. Tait.
* Preston Lodge’s gritty 20-15 win in Newton Stewart retains their slim chance of staying in the division.
To pip Stewartry, they now have to travel to Kilmarnock tomorrow and win by 36 points.
Lasswade remain favourites to take the second promotion spot after their 52-11 win away to Whitecraigs / Drumpellier. Two wins in their remaining two matches would be enough to leapfrog Glasgow Accies, who completed their campaign on Saturday with a 37-19 win away to Hawick YM.
Highland’s 28-12 victory over Cambuslang in Inverness allowed them to jump above Caithness and Waysiders into fifth.
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| 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 |
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness 25 - 27 Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Stewartry vs Caithness |
| 11th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Greenlaw |
| :: More Fixtures |
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