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| CAITHNESS 15 - STEWARTRY 8 by Iain Grant |
| Wed 20th Sep 2006 |
Saturday’s try-less win at Millbank may have been among the Greens’ least impressive National League rugby successes.
But amid what is a relatively benign start to their Division 2 campaign, the crucial stat from the fixture is the four point return.
It steadies the ship after the reverse the previous week versus Howe of Fife and lifts Caithness to third in the 12-team division.
It also prolongs their winning league run at home to 24 matches, with the last reverse, a 10-3 defeat to Falkirk in a mudbath in January last year.
Five penalties from Michael Henderson on Saturday were enough to sink a gallant Stewartry side who tackled their hearts out and came close to salvaging a draw with a late flurry.
They had to settle for a losing bonus point but will undoubtedly be a tough but nut to crack on their own turf.
The problems for Caithness continue to be in the backs, with Saturday’s starting line-up completely changed from the previous week.
Henderson came back from injury to join up with half-back partner Graham Fryer; regular back three performers Richard Mackay and James Paterson were the makeshift centre pairing; and William Mill was fielded at full-back.
The enforced merry-go-round ensured the three-quarter play, especially in attack, was blighted by a lack of cohesion and common purpose.
When the pack were given licence to take the ball on, the Greens looked far more threatening.
The first scoring opportunity fell to Henderson who misread the blustery wind with his opening pot at goal.
He succeeded with his next attempt but not before Dave Ashby had kicked a penalty for the visitors.
That was the way it stood at the interval.
A strong start to the second period saw the Castle Douglas men firmly on the back foot.
The pressure harvested two penalties, which Henderson converted.
Caithness were then rocked when they conceded a try which stemmed from a catalogue of errors from their own scrum possession in their own half.
A poor pass was spilled by Mackay with the ball being flyhacked through towards the Caithness line, at the swimming pool end.
Winger James Mill slipped as he backtracked, leaving Stewartry replacement Jamie MacDonald with a clear run to make the touchdown.
Ashby missed the touchline conversion to leave his side a single point behind.
Caithness were given some much-needed breathing space by a brace of penalties kicked by Henderson.
But the home support had a late scare when a late foray saw Stewartry come perilousy close to breaking through for a try, which would have been behind the posts.
Over the piece, the visitors did not do enough to earn a draw though they deserve credit for keeping their line unbreached.
Greens coach Colin Sangster said: "I never thought we were going to lose but it was a bit to close for comfort at the end."
Sangster was frustrated in the opening half-hour when his charges tore up the pre-match script.
"We set out a game-plan according to the personnel we had, which was to play a tight, driving game.
"But early on, they chose to depart from that and play their own game.
"We kept on playing the ball early to the backs who struggled to cross the gain-line and gave the ball away too often.
"They were also moving play away from the forwards, who were the strength of the team."
Sangster said that when they reverted to the game-plan for the middle third of the match, they looked a much more potent unit.
He was unhappy with ref Rob Lambert’s policing of the breakdown.
Sangster said: "They were a pretty competitive outfit and they tackled well all day.
"But they were also very good at killing and slowing up the ball at the breakdown and the referee let them away with murder in that area."
That, he said, does not get his side out of the dock for not making the most of the lion’s share of possession.
"We lacked a bit of a cutting edge in the midfield and there were too many mistakes at crucial times."
He said Stewartry, while not a free-scoring side, have a well-organised defence and he said would again be difficult opponents in the return fixture in Newton Stewart.
Tonight, Caithness leave for Ayrshire to prepare for their first ever clash with Kilmarnock.
Sangster knows his side has to make the most of a schedule which means his side do not face the league’s big guns until the end of the cycle.
Kilmarnock are pointless but Sangster is realistic enough to anticipate a searching examination.
"All the teams will be difficult away from home," he said.
"There will not be any easy away games though we are targeting a win tomorrow."
Centre Duncan Sangster is rated 50/50 to recover from a back injury which sidelined him last Saturday.
Prop Tommy Sutherland returns to the squad, which will not be finalised until several other fitness checks.
Caithness - W. Mill, J. Mill, R. Mackay, J. Paterson, J. Sinclair, M. Henderson, G. Fryer, J. Foubister (cpt), S. Campbell, S. Dunnett, E. Boyd, A. Morris, E. Sutherland, A. Sangster, G. Sutherland.
Replacements - J. Hamilton, D. Budge (used). K. Hamilton (unused).
Stewartry - P. Broatch (cpt), C. Fenwick, D. Dunlop, D. Boyd, D. Ashby, D. Kerr, F. Lamont, K. Amos, K. Berry, A. Riddell, L. Henderson, K. McMinn, G. Robertson, P. Swallwell, H. Dunlop. Replacements (all used) - T. Cannon, J. Peacock and J. MacDonald.
Ref - Mr R. Lambert, Glenrothes.
Annan and Falkirk continue to make the running in NLD2.
The former made light of a trip to Inverness where they scored an impressive 44-7 win over Highland.
Falkirk meanwhile were made to work hard for their 23-5 win Glasgow versus Allan Glen’s.
Linlithgow have recovered well from their single-point loss in Castle Douglas on the opening day.
Their hard-earned 16-14 success at Garnock was their third win on the bounce.
Kilmarnock sunk to their fourth straight defeat, losing 40-10 in Cupar to Howe of Fife.
Duns, the other side without a point, went down 34-14 at home to a rejuvenated Glasgow Accies.
Caithness Seconds, including a large under-18 contingent, scored a runaway 55-0 win over Craig Dunain in Inverness on Saturday.
Wick High School senior XV meanwhile chalked up an impressive 37-12 win at home versus Mintlaw Academy in the first round of the Bell Lawrie School Schools Cup on Tuesday.
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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 |
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2 |
4 |
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2 |
4 |
| Caithness |
2 |
3 |
| Newton Stewart |
2 |
1 |
| Alan Glens |
2 |
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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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