Brims masterclass brings victory for Caithness
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ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY 24 - 30 CAITHNESS
A STIRRING second-half comeback ensured the Greens took the spoils from their first RBS Caledonia 1 away jaunt.
It looked pretty bleak as they started the second half 14 points in arrears of the students.
But a masterclass in kicking from fly half Liam Brims and three touchdowns took the visitors clear before a late converted try won a losing bonus point for their hosts.
University sides are never at their most organised in the early part of the season when players are just returning for the new term.
The Aberdeen club was forced to call off its scheduled opening-day encounter versus Highland in Inverness and there was some early uncertainty about whether it would be able to play on Saturday. After these doubts were put to bed, Caithness preparations for the tussle were thrown into disarray when the venue was changed three times on the day of the game.
Because of traffic-induced delays as a result of the last-minute switch, the Greens arrived at the Balgownie pitch just half an hour before kick-off.
Brims kicked off into a stiff breeze and his side soon found itself on the back foot against the eager students. University drew first blood when Brims had a would-be clearance kick charged down on the 22.
It was hacked through and former Green James Paterson won the race for the touchdown.
Soon after, a breakdown in a Caithness attack paved the way for a second try scored by winger Stran Murray. Both were converted by fly half Gregor Porteous to give the home side a handsome early lead. The Greens managed to protect their line for the remainder of the half though they continued to struggle to make an impact in attack.
Their only reward was a penalty potted by Brims, with a reply from Porteous giving a half-time scoreline of 17-3 in favour of the hosts.
The Greens were a transformed outfit on the resumption with James Sinclair giving a flavour of what was to come with a pulsating break from his own 10m line. The strong-running centre was hauled down five metres from the try-line.
With the visitors’ previously misfiring setpiece providing a solid platform for their loose forwards, they were soon firmly on the front foot.
A flurry of go-forward phases ended with number eight Evan Sutherland crossing near the posts, allowing Brims to add the extras.
They had not long to wait for further reward. A slick execution of a double switch involving Sutherland, Brims and wing forward Michael Duffy had the latter downed near the line. A quickly recycled ball enabled Brims to waltz between two defenders and cross by the posts. Brims’ conversion tied the score at 17-17.
The visitors harnessed the elements to good effect, kicking for territory and regularly breaching the gain-line with some powerful carries and support play.
After a multi-phase sequence, University ran out of defenders to allow Sutherland to go over for his second touchdown to put his side in front. Brims added the conversion.
The Caithness front five were by now regularly shunting their opponents backwards at the set scrums.
A penalty conceded by the back-tracking student pack was punished by Brims who added a sweetly-struck drop goal to end the day with a personal haul of 20 points.
Late on, Caithness were caught cold after University ran a penalty with centre Paterson going in for his second try, which Porteous ?converted.
The last score rankled Greens coach Donald MacIntosh who was otherwise buoyed by how his side had eaten into the deficit stacked against them at the interval. He said: “That was a really soft try and took some of the gloss of our second-half performance. After a very difficult start we managed to stay in touch and came out in the second half and played the rugby we are capable of.”
MacIntosh credited his tight forwards for giving the platform for his back row and three-quarters to break loose after the interval.
He added: “Credit should also go to Andrew Nicolson, who only found out he was playing scrum half at training on Thursday, and Liam, who gave a man-of-the-match display.”
Aberdeen University: J. Permund, S. Murray, R. McLaren, J. Paterson, E. French, G. Porteous, D. Rutherford, P. Hodson, E. Melville, D. Fraser, C. Stove, T. Croy, J. Webb, R. Barbour, R. Henderson. Replacement used: J. Gilfillan.
Caithness: D. Gunn, C. Spargo, J. Sinclair, G. Poke, P. Nicolson, L. Brims, A .Nicolson, S. Dunnett (cpt), H. Coghill, T. Sutherland, D. Nicolson, J. Miller, M. Duffy, E. Sutherland, R. Coghill. Replacements used: M. Nicolson and R. Pottinger. Unused: J. Malcolm.
