|
|
 |
| HAWICK YM 12 - CAITHNESS 23 by Iain Grant |
| Sat 28th Jan 2006 |
The Greens celebrated promotion on Saturday evening on their return from a sparkling win in the traditional heartland of Scottish rugby.
Their three-tries-to-nil victory was hard-wrought against a side which was certainly not weakened by an infusion of players from the local PSA under-18 club.
Two penalties harvested by YM early in the second half reduced the deficit to 12-13 and once again Caithness had to rely on a late scoring burst to seal their fifth league success on the road.
After three solid but unflashy wins on the Millbank glaur, they took advantage of the relatively firm pitch at Hawick to turn in what was arguably their best first half of the season.
Their all-action, dynamic brand of rugby, featuring some scintillating individual breaks and textbook recycling, threatened to overwhelm the home side.
YM, nicknamed the Redskins, were corralled deep in their own territory for long spells when they showed plenty of pluck in defending their line.
The Greens failed to sustain the head of steam they built up before the break but they were never seriously in danger of going behind.
Their elevation to BT National League Division Two - their third step-up in four seasons - has come with four games still remaining.
Saturday’s match at Mansfield Haugh went ahead on the adjoining ground to Hawick’s Premiership One joust with Heriot’s.
Such is the strength of the game in the Borders that Hawick (pop: 15,000) has four senior clubs each with their separate identities and distinct on and off-the-field set-ups.
Caithness can never aspire to even attempt to replicate that level of activity but the upwardly mobile club, if nothing else, is putting the county very much on the Scottish rugby map.
Right from the kick-off on a still, fine afternoon, the visitors set about their business with a spark that has been missing in recent outings.
Centre William Mill made the first line break which triggered a series of phases which had YM in full retreat.
The Greens opened the scoring on five minutes when a penalty kicked to touch resulted in a take from Andy Morris and a well-drilled drive.
With the YM defensive phalanx well and truly splintered, the final rumble left flanker Evan Sutherland with an unopposed run to the line.
Full-back Richard Mackay made an excellent job of taking over the place-kicking duties when he slotted the conversion from near the touchline.
Sutherland shortly afterwards was to the fore in another yard-guzzling attack with Duncan Sangster and Mill providing good support before possession was lost deep in the opposition 22 by a Green going off his feet at the breakdown.
Sangster, relishing the firmer surface, saw more of the ball in the first half than he had done in the previous three games.
Another highly promising move was aborted when Mackay and Mill were penalised for inadvertent crossing.
YM’s first attack after 18 minutes led to their first points when a fine surge from their number eight Colin Colville resulted in a penalty which was kicked by Neil Renwick.
Mackay and Renwick then traded penalties to make it 10-6 for Caithness midway through the half.
MacKay was off-target with another attempt shortly before his side almost scored what would have been a memorable try.
A fine angled run from Sangster saw him link with Donald Buchanan whose quick feed to George Sutherland could not prevent the flanker straying into touch.
Apart from their flair on the break, Caithness were also bossing their opponents in the more macho areas of play.
YM’s young and relatively light front row were in trouble at the scrums, being pushed off their own ball on three occasions in the second quarter.
The try-scoring chances continued to be manufactured by the Greens with another flowing move ending with hooker Stevie Campbell just unable to take Norman Foubister’s improvised low pass.
Two minutes from the break, MacKay nailed a second penalty to put his side 13-6 up.
The Redskins took heart from turning round without facing a much heftier deficit.
This was reflected in a spirited resumption to hostilities which won them two kickable penalties in the opening 12 minutes.
Renwick, the son of Hawick and Scotland legend Jim Renwick, accepted both opportunities to cut the Greens’ lead to a single point.
Caithness redoubled their effort but though they enjoyed plenty of the ball struggled to break down a committed defence.
Mackay was short with along penalty attempt while scrum-half Graham Fryer almost skipped clear from a scrum.
They had to wait until 10 minutes from time for their second try which followed a lengthy encampment within a few metres of the YM line.
Foubister and Morris were held up just short before the ball was spun wide right.
The attack appeared to break down when the ball went to ground and Sutherland was guilty of a knock-on as he sought to re-gather.
But the offence was missed by the ref as the flanker, almost in the same action, threw an over-the-shoulder pass which was gathered by Mackay.
The full-back crashed over to score near the right touch-flag.
He was very unlucky not to get the extras when his kick came back off the junction of the bar and the near-side upright.
Four minutes later, the Greens got the decisive score to put them clear.
A fine break by Roddy Gray was carried on by Foubister and Campbell with the latter unselfishly handing on to James ‘Pop’Sinclair who stepped inside the last covering defender to score.
Replacements James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair and Lorne MacNicol both featured with incisive breaks in the dying minutes.
The final action saw ‘Pop’ Sinclair laid out by a crude shoulder-charge by a YM replacement as the winger sniffed the chance of another score.
He ended up being stretchered off and now faces a mandatory three week lay-off after being found to have suffered mild concussion.
YM coach Alisdair Imray said afterwards: "I thought it was a really good team with both sides looking to play some good rugby.
"We struggled in the first half and I was happy to be just 13-6 down.
"The game could have gone any way after we landed the two penalties but Caithness finished very strongly."
Hawick YM - N. McCombe, G. Robertson, N. Renwick, D. Murphy, S. Chalmers, G. Renwick, B. Campbell, D. Young, T. McGuigan, D. Richardson, K. Millar, C. Charters, R. Trimby (cpt), C. Colville, R. Borthwick. Replacements (all used) - C. Traynor, D. Waldie and S. Anderson.
Caithness - R. Mackay, J. Begg, D. Sangster, W. Mill, James ‘Pop’ Sinclair, N. Foubister, G. Fryer, D. Buchanan, S. Campbell, J. MacMillan, E. Boyd, A. Morris (cpt), G. Sutherland, D. Pottinger, E. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) - R. Gray, L. MacNicol and James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair.
Ref - Mr A. Lyall, Jedburgh.
|
| Back to News |
|
 |
|
|
|
| Stewartry |
1 |
5 |
| Berwick |
1 |
5 |
| Newton Stewart |
1 |
5 |
| Caithness |
1 |
5 |
| Waysiders Drumpellier |
1 |
4 |
| Highland |
1 |
4 |
| Alan Glens |
1 |
1 |
| Aberdeenshire |
1 |
1 |
| Hawick YM |
1 |
1 |
| Glasgow Accies |
1 |
0 |
| Kilmarnock |
1 |
0 |
| Annan |
1 |
0 |
|
 |
| 1st XV Season (2009/10) |
| Kilmarnock 81 - 5 Caithness |
| 17th Apr 10 - KO: 12:00 |
| Venue: Bellsland |
| :: Match Report |
 |
| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness vs Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
| :: More Fixtures |
|
