Positives on show for Caithness Krakens despite defeat away to Inverness Craig Dunain
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Caithness Krakens coach Mike Flavell found positives as his side slumped to their eighth defeat of the season in Inverness on Saturday.
He praised their energy levels and commitment in the 31–7 reverse to North Region Women’s League pacesetters Craig Dunain.
The city side were made to work hard for the win which, with their Shetland and Aberdeen rivals idle, extended their lead at the top to 11 points.
A hard-fought first half ended with the visitors trailing 14–7 on a sticky surface at Highland Rugby Club’s Canal Park.
After conceding the opening try, the Krakens finished off a purple patch with a well-taken try by centre Caitlin Flavell, converted by Carly Erridge.
Craig Dunain responded with their second touchdown from their speedy winger.
Two further converted tries and a penalty sealed the Krakens’ fate as they failed to cash in on lengthy spells of pressure in the second half.
Coach Flavell had the luxury of travelling with 21, a welcome change from the threadbare contingents who took part in their previous couple of away assignments.
He said: “They (Craig Dunain) are a well-established outfit who play a good brand of rugby.
“I thought we competed well across the board against them.
“We let in a couple of soft tries and the final score really didn’t reflect how the game had gone.
“The margin between the sides was less than in the recent game between us in Thurso but we definitely played better on Saturday.”
Flavell reckoned his side made more line breaks and was disappointed they could not capitalise from them, adding: “We were guilty of maybe panicking a bit and holding on to the ball too long and not using the support.
“We also came close on two or three occasions when one more pass would have put someone in.
“Our defence was a lot better and we were competitive at the breakdown, strong right to the end, so overall I took a lot of positives out of their display.”
A downside was a shoulder injury to Aileen Simmonite who had just returned to action after a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
She will miss Saturday’s trip to Fraserburgh, which the Krakens will be hoping to return to winning ways in.
Fraserburgh currently sit bottom of the league table with no wins from their four matches played to date.
When the two teams were due to meet earlier in the season, Fraserburgh could not raise a team and were consequently made to forfeit, with Caithness being awarded a 28–0 victory.
Caithness men’s Seconds had the day off after their planned Caley North League Three double header versus Stornoway in Invergordon had to be scrubbed because of a waterlogged pitch.
It has already been rescheduled, with a new date set for Saturday, January 7.
The only league game to go ahead on Saturday saw Kinloss Eagles’ title hopes take a knock after they went down 26–18 to Highland Thirds in Inverness.
The Yellows meanwhile are due to play Craig Dunain in Inverness on Saturday in the west league’s only fixture, one of just two matches slated across the entire division this weekend.
This match was originally due to be played on October 15, but was pushed back a month.
Craig Dunain have struggled so far this season, only just picking up their first victory of the campaign two weeks ago after being deducted points for failing to fulfil a fixture.
With the bonus points they have earned, though, they could still leapfrog The Yellows with a win, so it will be imperative that Caithness get a result.
Elsewhere, Dyce will host Aberdeenshire Seconds in the east league with Dyce looking to stay in contention for top spot, currently occupied by Garioch.
