Wilson hopes Orkney Sevens will be ‘perfect way to round off season’
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Yorkshire-born Cole Wilson is looking forward to savouring his first taste of Orkney Sevens with the Greens.
He is in charge of mobilising the club’s latest bid to break their duck in the men’s competition.
He has always enjoyed the social side of the game and has been told about the unique atmosphere that pervades the day.
“I’ve heard it is a top-class day out and it is a perfect way to round off our season,” he said.
Like Orkney, Caithness’s 15-a-side season proved a protracted affair with their Caley 1 league programme, due to be over by Christmas, dragging on until April 20.
Their stop-start campaign at least ended with a flourish, with a comeback 33-27 win over Ellon followed by a 74-3 rout of Aberdeen Wanderers.
Wilson said: “We didn’t manage to send a side over to Orkney last year, which was a shame as I think we should be supporting each other as much as we can.
“I’ve always loved sevens. It’s fun and a nice change from the grind of 15s.”
Wilson, a 26-year-old officer with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary at Dounreay, moved north in January 2023. He was a flanker as a schoolboy before playing for Newcastle University.
He then switched to loosehead prop for spells with Morpeth and Old Broadleians in Halifax. He also had a stint of rugby league with Halifax-based Siddal.
Wilson has generally played number eight for the Greens but has also filled in at centre.
He said he has mustered a decent squad for the trip over the Pentland Firth.
“We’ve never won the sevens,” he said. “One of the boys told me that one of the last times we got to the final, we had to forfeit the match as we had to leave to catch the ferry back.”
Another visiting side this year is a composite one organised by Caithness exile Stuart Kirk.
Kirk, a final-year dentistry student at Dundee University, plays outside centre for Dundee RFC.
He was also a member of the Caley Reds squad in this year’s Scottish inter-district tournament.
He is good friends with Orcadian Cammy Fraser, with whom he arranged to enter a side in Saturday’s sevens.
The Picts made their debut in last year’s Edinburgh City 7s.
Kirk, from Castletown, has assembled a squad of 10 who are drawn from Dundee, Glasgow Accies and Currie.
Fraser suffered a wrist injury playing in one of Dundee’s last games in National 1 and has been assigned the non-playing role of team manager.
Kirk (23) said: “I have played 15s in Orkney but this will be my first time at the sevens.
“We should have a pretty decent squad and we’ll be coming up to try and win the tournament but also to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the occasion.”
Orkney “A” will be defending the trophy they won last year when they defeated army side 3 Scots in the final.
This will be the fourth Orkney Sevens to feature a women’s competition.
Caithness Krakens will be defending the title they won last year with a 19-0 victory over Orkney Dragons in the final.
Fresh from their National Plate success at Murrayfield on Saturday, the Krakens are to come over with two sides.
Coach Mike Flavell said: “Orkney Sevens is always a great day out. The competition is well organised and it has such a lot of history behind it.”
He said that while his “A” side took the honours last year, the “B” team probably had more fun.
“They had four front-row forwards and didn’t really consider themselves a sevens side but they really enjoyed the day and are all keen to go again,” he said.
The Dragons are also fielding two sides on Saturday, with Inverness Craig Dunain also taking part.
As was the case last year, it is proposed to have a round-robin competition, with the top two meeting in the final. The action in both the men’s and women’s competitions is scheduled to get under way at 12.30pm.
