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| TRINITY ACCIES 9 - CAITHNESS 42 by Iain Grant |
| Wed 16th Nov 2005 |
Caithness got an ideal boost for tomorrow's top-of-the-table clash in Falkirk with this convincing victory.
They ran in six tries and conceded none on their first outing at Bangholm, the home of the long-established Edinburgh club and school teams.
The Greens dominated from the off against a side who had won four and drawn one of their previous outings, a run which put them on the fringe of the promotion race.
Trinity's pack were subdued throughout with their pacemen in the three-quarter line getting precious few opportunities to show what they could do.
Caithness led 17-6 at the interval despite having to play into the face of a troublesome wind.
They took the lead through a second minute Michael Henderson penalty after a home forward strayed offside at a ruck.
Left wing Jamie Begg had a promising run before Trinity were gifted three points on 12 minutes when Mike O'Hagan kicked a penalty after William Mill obstructed a runner as Henderson made a clearance kick from a scrum in his own 22.
Caithness had a stranglehold of possession which was interrupted more by their own sloppiness in ball retention on contact rather than the quality of the resistance.
The opening try on 18 minutes was created by a rehearsed backs' move which saw Duncan Sangster offload for Mill to burst through a gap to score.
Henderson converted.
Try as they might, Trinity failed to match the Greens' forward power and spent most of the half in reverse gear.
After 20 minutes, a swashbuckling series of phases, in which John Foubister and Sangster played prominent parts, should have produced a try.
But with a score beckoning, the Greens paid the price for a persistence in using the blind side as a blind alley.
The pressure was unrelenting with a surge from Danny Budge forcing a penalty and giving his side the chance to execute a drive from a five metre line-out.
The frustration levels grew as the Trinity eight were backed over their line, only for a lack of communication in the opposition ranks leading to the ball being held up.
The line was finally breached for a second time after 26 minutes when Sangster broke clear to score closing enough to the posts for Henderson to convert.
Three minutes later, Sangster's turnover after making a tackle led to James 'Pop' Sinclair almost over after a chip-and-chase.
The home cause was not helped by injuries to two of their front row which meant that for most of the game scrums were of the non-contested variety.
Their first threat came from a scrum eight minutes from the break when a superb cut-out pass from O'Hagan sent his full-back and skipper Dave Watson galloping through on an outside line.
He beat the first line of defence and was cutting a diagonal to the right touch-flag when he was floored by a superb, head-on smother tackle from Begg.
That for me was the highlight of the game, even if a subsequent infringement by a Green led to a penalty, which O'Hagan duly potted.
Caithness finished the half on top with a flowing move seeing Richard Mackay hauled down just short.
O'Hagan was then off-target with a penalty in the final action of the half.
Two scores within five minutes of the resumption removed any prospect of a home revival and earned the county side a bonus point.
The first try followed a good interchange between forwards and backs with Henderson delivering a pop pass for Sangster to jink his way past two defenders to the line.
The second resulted from a powerful thrust and fine off-load from Roddy Gray which sent skipper Andy Morris in at the posts.
Henderson converted the first but marred his 100% record when he pulled the second wide.
Trinity were being outplayed in just about every department with their final score on 55 minutes coming from a sharply taken drop goal from O'Hagan.
Their backs were operating on starvation rations and it is to their credit that they made full use of just about every opportunity that came their way.
An example was on 62 minutes when a loose ball just outside the Trinity 22 was seized on by left winger R. Ritchie who skipped outside Sinclair and would have gone all the way but for a classic cover tackle from replacement Hamish Boyd.
The Greens were soon back on the offensive and Sinclair was thwarted by a similar last-ditch tackle by O'Hagan after Hamish Boyd did the spadework.
A rolling maul towards the Trinity posts created the platform for the fifth try, which was snapped up by scrum-half Graham Fry.
Three minutes from time, another break-out by the visitors saw Morris deliver the money pass to give Sinclair the chance to outrun the cover to touch down.
Henderson improved both scores to end the day with a personal haul of 13.
Trinity skipper Watson had no complaints about the outcome.
"In fairness, we were never really allowed to get into the game.
"Caithness were well-organised in defence and we just couldn't build up any rhythm. We were beaten by a better side."
Greens coach Colin Sangster was pleased with the display, which keeps his men three points behind tomorrow's opponents Falkirk and 10 ahead of third placed Highland.
"I thought we played pretty well," he said.
"We got off to a really good start and we never let them into the game.
"If we had just been a bit more clinical and taken more of the scoring opportunities that we created, it could have been a 70 pointer."
Budge will miss the trip to Falkirk as he is back offshore. Roddy Gray looks set to join Ewen Boyd in the engine room.
George Sutherland is back training but unlikely to figure tomorrow while a shoulder injury could delay fellow flanker David Pottinger's return to action.
Trinity Accies -- D. Watson (cpt), J. Lindsay, A. Bruce, N. Morrison, R. Ritchie, M. O'Hagan, R. Watson, R. Wood, C. Boyd, P. Sapromodo, R. Lovett, P. Gilhooley, N. Graham, J. Weir, G. Matuszak. Replacements (used) -- D. Barnes and B. McPherson.
Caithness -- R. Mackay, James 'Pop' Sinclair, W. Mill, D. Sangster, J. Begg, M. Henderson, G. Fryer, J. MacMillan, S. Campbell, J. Foubister, E. Boyd, D. Budge, L. MacNicol, A. Morris (cpt), E. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) -- R. Gray, James 'Pigeon' Sinclair and H. Boyd.
Ref -- Mr G. McSorley, Preston Lodge.
. Falkirk extended their winning sequence to 10 with a 43-17 home win over Helensburgh.
Highland recorded a 36-20 success in Glenrothes but Lismore lost ground when they lost 24-18 at home to Hawick YM.
Whitecraigs meanwhile bolstered their hopes of avoiding the drop after edging out Newton Stewart 9-8.
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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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