Caithness coach hoping to see improvement in sizeable casualty list
Stonehaven was the latest location where the Greens came to grief in the North Conference of Caley North 1.
Their five forays have harvested a solitary four-try bonus point, with their 50-5 reverse to Mackie on Saturday taking the total number of points conceded to 321.
Once again a squad shorn of a string of regulars struggled to make inroads.
Mackie avenged with interest the last-gasp 45-41 defeat they suffered in Thurso at the end of August.
They were only outgunned in the scrums, where the visiting pack time and again had them in reverse gear.
But the north-east side had the edge throughout at the breakdown and carried a threat throughout with their big carriers and pacy, incisive centres.
After conceding two tries early on, Caithness enjoyed a decent spell which was capped with a touchdown from Michael Gunn. The prop peeled off a driving maul but still had work to cross the whitewash.
The momentum was quickly drained when the hosts cashed in on a fumble from the restart to run in a third try.
“That was a pivotal point in the game and we struggled to get going after that,” head coach Cameron Boyd said.
In terms of the positives, he was happy with the scrum dominance his side continued to enjoy.
He is delighted with the progress of tyro prop Dom Smith-Hanratty, who was the Greens’ man of the match.
Boyd believes that another referee might have opted to brandish a card or award a penalty try after a run of scrum penalties against the home side.
The Greens also held their own in the lineouts but were second best in the general run of the game.
“We struggled to get any real go-forward in the loose. We had a few promising passages but they ended up coming to nothing,” Boyd said.
He added: “They capitalised very well on our mistakes and took their opportunities.”
Boyd has been hamstrung by the unavailability rates for the away games. They have ranged between 17 to 27 for the five trips, with 21 missing on Saturday.
Caithness have also had 40 players on first-team duty this season, with the high churn impacting on continuity.
They have no game this weekend, with their next assignment at home to Blairgowrie in the second round of the National Shield on November 9.
Boyd will be hoping his sizeable casualty list will have shortened by then, with captain Cole Wilson and other key players Scott Webster and Charlie Quinn among those currently in rehab.
Saturday’s defeat leaves Caithness bottom of the conference with five games remaining.
Mackie’s win puts them a point behind leaders Aberdeenshire, who kept in pole position thanks to a 55-29 home victory over North Police.
Ellon moved into third place in the conference after a bonus-point 31-12 win against Ross Sutherland.
