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| CAITHNESS 32 - WHITECRAIGS 10 by Iain Grant |
| Wed 18th Jan 2006 |
 The Greens are fast closing in on their third promotion in four years.
Only a collapse of Devon Loch proportions can now prevent them taking their place in next year’s BT National League Division Two.
They safely negotiated another hurdle on Saturday with a solid, if unspectacular bonus point win over their Glasgow opponents.
With three teams going up as part of yet another SRU league restructuring, Caithness now require just six points from their remaining five matches to make absolutely sure of going up.
Saturday’s five tries-to-two success was marred by the belated discovery that prop John Foubister had fractured an ankle and will miss the rest of the campaign.
There were too many dead spells for this game to live long in the memory with play all too often disrupted by penalties and other stoppages
Whitecraigs kicked off into the dazzling glare of a low sun which, if bad news for their fielders, was warmly appreciated by the spectators.
Norman Foubister, who retained the Number 10 jersey, quickly tested the visiting back three with a high punt.
It was not properly dealt with and from the ensuing play, the Whitecraigs back line strayed offside and Hamish Boyd duly kicked his side into a three point lead.
Caithness kept up a high tempo start and a sparkling handling move gave young wing James Paterson a chance to test out his opponent.
After 11 minutes, Caithness disruption of an opposition scrum saw Evan Sutherland pirate the ball and forge clear only for play to be recalled for him breaking off too early.
Whitecraigs got some joy after 15 minutes when a decent spell ended with them menacing the home line after Norman Foubister’s clearance kick was charged down.
Caithness survived and were soon back calling the shots as they attacked the tennis court end.
John Foubister and Jim MacMillan showed up well in a rumble up the centre which was the prelude to a slick handling sequence which saw Hamish Boyd put over near the right-hand corner.
The Greens played well in fits and starts but their performance again suffered from poor ball retention and a tendency to over-elaborate in the back division.
A blindside dart from Graham Fryer on the hour-mark required a last-ditch smother tackle to prevent him touching down.
Four minutes from the break, the Greens got the try which allowed them to move towards the comfort zone.
It stemmed from a powerful thrust by Hamish Boyd which fractured the defence with Norman Foubister waltzing through an unguarded channel before handing off the full-back David Dowd to touch down.
Hamish Boyd goaled to put his side 15-0 up which remained to the turnaround after Whitecraigs’ Gordon Steven was off-target with a late penalty attempt.
The game was effectively up for the visitors when they conceded a third try in the first action after the resumption.
A rolling maul, spearheaded by James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair, made good ground before Sutherland served as the link to put Fryer over.
The third quarter was a messy affair with the home side struggling to keep control and giving away a stream of penalties.
This encouraged their opponents whose first wide move of the day after 55 minutes looked very promising until left wing Jamie Savage knocked on.
The visitors retained their belief and were rewarded on 61 minutes when a close-in series of pick-and-drives and mauls ended with a try for number eight Andy Martin.
This setback had the positive effect of refocusing the Greens in their push for the all-important fourth try.
It duly arrived three minutes later when a cute inside pass from Norman Foubister sent Stevie Campbell in for one of his now routine long-range tries.
He capped off his 40 metre run with a sidestep of the last covering defender to go over near the posts.
Michael Henderson converted.
The Greens’ first-up defence near their line was posted missing again on 67 minutes when Martin forced his way over for a Groundhog Day try.
There was another scare when a home attack broke down and replacement Hugh Henderson set off down the touchline.
A desperate cover tackle from Hamish Boyd saved the day.
Caithness finished the game on a high with a beautifully executed switch between Henderson and Jamie Begg a highlight of the game.
It did not lead to a try but the Whitecraigs line was breached in the last minute when a well-controlled rolling maul saw Campbell break off to go over for his 13th touchdown of the season.
Whitecraigs president Graham Scott had no complaints in defeat.
He said: "Caithness had the majority of the play and were worthy winners.
"Our guys stuck in and kept coming back at them and we’re going back disappointed but not unhappy with our display.
Greens coach Colin Sangster was happy with the five points but concerned about aspects of the performance.
He said: "I was disappointed with the way we lost the two tries in the second half.
"We started reasonably well but we couldn’t keep up the tempo and it went flat for spells.
"I thought we created quite a lot of good positions but too often we couldn’ t finish and really put them away."
Caithness - H. Boyd, J. Paterson, R. Mill, D. Sangster, J. Begg, N. Foubister, G. Fryer, J. MacMillan, S. Campbell, J. Foubister, R. Gray, E. Boyd, J. Sinclair, A. Morris (cpt), E. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) - D. Buchanan, L. MacNicol and M. Henderson.
Whitecraigs - D. Dowd, D. Manson, G. Steven, G. Hutton, J. Savage, T. Carter, A. Little. R. Cocayne, A.Donachie, N. Savage, J. Henderson, R. Walker, B. McHugh, A. Martin, H. Hunter. Replacements (all used) - G. Sweeney, H. Henderson and J. Glancey.
Ref - Mr A. Davies, RAF.
The key other result for Caithness was fourth placed Lismore’s 26-13 reverse away to bottom side Glenrothes.
That means the Edinburgh side’s potential maximum is 56 - five more than the current points tally of the Greens.
Caithness also stole a march on Highland who required a late try to defeat Newton Stewart 8-3 in Inverness.
Falkirk ensured promotion and reinforced their title push with a runaway 100-0 home rout of Trinity Accies.
The other match saw Helensburgh defeat Hawick YM 17-0.
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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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