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| CAITHNESS 5 - GRANGEMOUTH 9 by Iain Grant |
| Wed 22nd Feb 2006 |
The Murrayfield dream is over for another year for the Greens after Saturday’s quarter-final exit from the BT Bowl.
The manner of the defeat left the home faithful deeply frustrated as a win was certainly well within the grasp of their favourites.
Their tactics could be questioned and the absence of their frontline goal-kicker proved crucial in such a tight contest.
But Grangemouth deserve credit for the spirit and collective industry they displayed in regrouping after their number eight Dave McFarlane was red-carded midway through the first half.
It was perhaps in the aftermath to his dismissal that the tie was won and lost as the Greens’ reward for constant pressure they applied up to the interval yielded just five points.
Having got though that sticky patch, Grangemouth came out after the turnaround with renewed vigour.
They then capitalised on their opponents’ high penalty count to regain the lead with two kicks at goal, which secured their passage to the last four.
The glutinous surface once again militated against a classic, flowing game with the error count on both sides mounting as hands got cold and muddy and studs got clogged up.
Mercifully it stayed dry for the tussle which pitted Caithness against a side two leagues above them.
The Greens started well with Hamish Boyd and Richard Mackay prominent with a couple of midfield thrusts and Norman Foubister keeping the opposition wide defence on their toes with several neat dinks over the top.
It was the visitors who created the first clear opening after 14 minutes when a miss-out pass created an overlap.
Skipper and full-back Johnny Campbell delayed fractionally in feeding winger Michael Dodd who still looked odds-on to score.
But as Dodd crossed, a smother tackle from Mackay prevented him getting the ball down.
Grangemouth then fouled up the resultant scrum when Greens’ scrum-half Graham Fryer pirated the ball and sparked off a long-range attack.
The packs were evenly matched though Caithness once again had a decided edge in their offensive mauling.
The conditions had a lot to do with neither side being able to produce the quick, go-forward ball at the breakdown so essential to create try-scoring opportunities.
The first score came on 22 minutes when Grangemouth’s Orkney-bred fly-half Scott Anderton landed a penalty.
There was controversy three minutes later when ref Andy Davies was alerted by one of his assistants to a punch thrown by McFarlane at Euan Boyd
The recent zero-tolerance directive issued by the SRU ensured there was only one outcome for the number eight.
Caithness took full advantage of their man advantage two minutes later when they went over for what proved the only touchdown of the afternoon.
A penalty kicked to touch was the prelude for a take and drive which was perfectly executed to enable Euan Boyd to ground the ball under a pile of bodies.
Mackay missed the difficult conversion.
Caithness were camped for the rest of the half deep in opposition territory from which they launched a series of attacks.
There were a couple of close things but over-eagerness and botched passes, allied to some committed defending, meant they did not trouble the scoreboard again.
Mackay also missed a simple penalty awarded nine minutes from the break for a high tackle on Duncan Sangster in the shadow of the posts.
The Greens were also denied after 36 minutes when Grangemouth winger Craig Gibb had a kick charged down a metre or two from his line.
It followed a superb chase from Hamish Boyd’s chip-through to the swimming pool corner
Fryer got to the kick and appeared to touch down but Mr Davies ruled that the scrum-half had knocked on.
The frustration levels in the Greens’ ranks grew after prop Jim MacMillan was yellow-carded just before the interval after taking the rap for a run of infringements by his side in short order.
The second half proved a battle of attrition with the high scrum count testament to a high quota of handling mistakes.
Neither side was able to seriously menace the opposing try-line in what degenerated into a fractured, stop-start game.
Caithness continued to give away penalties and this was to prove their nemesis.
Five minutes after the interval James ‘Pop ’Sinclair was pinged for not releasing after a tackle and Anderton duly spliced the posts to put his team in front.
After Hamish Boyd missed a similar opportunity, Anderton potted his third of the day after 63 minutes to put his side four points to the good.
Caithness have regularly finished matches very strongly this season but try as they might, they could not make inroads this time.
After the break, with the advantage of the wind, the Greens perhaps tried to play too much rugby early on, instead of kicking more for position and using the forwards to develop better attacking platforms.
Grangemouth finished the match with 13 men after the last minute sending-off of prop Ross Balmer for the rogue use of a knee at a ruck.
Caithness - R. Mackay, J. Mill, D. Sangster, H. Boyd, 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, D. Budge, L.MacNicol and James ‘Pigeon’ Sinclair.
Grangemouth - J. Campbell (cpt), M. Dodd, T. Meadows, A. Hayes, C. Gibb, S. Anderton, R. McPherson, G. Bell, A. Verity, R. Balmer, J. Thomson, S. Carey, C. Gillanders, D. McFarlane, R. Innes. Replacements (all used) - N. Chisholm, B. Aspinall, S. Groat and B. Johnston.
Ref - Mr A. Davies, RAF Lossiemouth.
The semi-final draw pairs Grangemouth away to Morgan Academy FPs, who were 36-0 winners away to Stewartry.
Highland prevailed 24-6 at home to Marr on Saturday.
The draw again favoured the Inverness club who are away to another NLD5 side, North Berwick.
The Borders side won 24-17 home win against Newton Stewart.
The only NLD3 match saw Whitecraigs move off the bottom with a 27-10 win over Trinity Accies.
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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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