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| CAITHNESS 37 - ALLAN GLEN'S 7 by Iain Grant |
| Wed 30th Aug 2006 |
The Greens got their National League Division Two campaign off to a flier on Saturday with a five tries-to-one victory over their Glasgow opponents.
They will come up against better sides than Allan Glen’s, who escaped relegation last season by the skin of their teeth.
But given the significant changes in personnel, especially in the back division, coach Colin Sangster was more than happy with the winning start.
Caithness punished defensive frailties to establish a decisive 22 point lead in the first quarter.
Led by new skipper John Foubister, the Greens pack were dominant throughout in the setpiece.
The scrums were solid and they bossed the line-outs, in which Ewen Boyd excelled.
The first half, in particular, saw them capitalise on an unstructured defence
and unforced errors.
They displayed commendable ball retention and showed a cutting edge in the execution of attacks.
In the absence of regular scrum-half, Wick schoolboy Kris Hamilton fitted in well in the pivot role on his competitive debut for the club.
He linked well and ensured a reliable supply of ball to the three-quarter line, in which pack member Stevie Campbell showed his versatility in partnering Duncan Sangster at centre.
Flanker Evan Sutherland was regularly involved and got the scoring underway after two minutes.
After a series of good, go-forward phases, he took an inside pass from Duncan Sangster to plunge over.
Michael Henderson converted and added a penalty a couple of minutes afterwards.
A turnover was the prelude to the Greens’ second try on 10 minutes with
Duncan Sangster scoring at the second attempt after his first lunge was repelled.
The steady pressure bore fruit again after 22 minutes when a well-worked move ended with Campbell making the final surge to the line.
Henderson added the conversion.
Allan Glen’s staved off further damage until five minutes after the turnaround.
A sweeping move ended with Hamilton providing a well-timed pass to send winger James Mill over in the corner.
A change of personnel for the Greens paid dividends on the hour-mark with William Mill spurting through a gap to put Henderson over for a try, he improved.
Five minutes later, a penalty nailed by the fly-half took his tally for the afternoon to 17.
A clutch of other scoring opportunities were passed up by the home side with the last try falling to the visitors with nine minutes through number eight Tony Wright.
Russell McEwan added the conversion.
AG’s skipper Alistair Johnson had no complaints with the outcome.
"We came up against a well-organised side and were beaten by the better side -- iIt’s as simple as that," was his realistic assessment.
Greens coach Colin Sangster was delighted to get a win under their belts.
He said :"I was pretty pleased as we stepped up in a number of areas from the week before.
"There’s a bit of work to be done but we improved on our defence and at the contact point."
He was disappointed in the second half by his side’s turnover count and their inability to finish off attacks.
"We scored five tries but we must have had another five or six clear opportunities we could have converted had we been a bit more clinical."
The coach continues to be handicapped by a lack of options in the back division.
The already thin resources are further stretched for tomorrow’s home match versus Glasgow Accies.
Campbell is on holiday and James Mill unavailable while Hamilton picked up a knee knock on Saturday and regular scrum-half Graham Fryer remains sidelined.
James ‘Pop’ Sinclair returns from a stint offshore and is likely to replace Mill while William Mill is also likely to start.
The match at Millbank kicks off at 3 p.m.
Glasgow Accies will be keen to atone after losing their first match 35-6 at home to Annan.
Highland enjoyed a cracking start to their campaign by registering a 40-12 home success over Kilmarnock.
That gives them a boost prior to their match versus last year’s NLD3 champions Falkirk, who have made a series of useful captures over the summer.
Falkirk opened their campaign with a 41-5 win at Duns.
Other matches in NLD2 saw another likely title contender Garnock beat Howe of Fife 46-7 and Stewartry edge out Linlithgow 17-16.
Caithness - R. Mackay, J. Mill, S. Campbell, D. Sangster, J. Paterson, M. Henderson, K. Hamilton, J. Foubister (cpt), D. Pottinger, T. Sutherland, E. Boyd, A. Morris, A. Sangster, E. Sutherland, G. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) - S. Dunnett, J. Sinclair and W. Mill.
Allan Glen’s - R. McEwan, J. Grant, S. Kirk, S. Costar, D. Watterson, D. Letham, A. Milne, C. Spittoni, M.Ravilich, D. Green, K. Jenkins, A. Johnson (cpt), G. Pirrit, T. Wright, B. Convery. Replacements - S. Whitelaw, J. Stalker and S. Riley.
Ref - Mr A. MacLean
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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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