Greens at lowest point in their history after latest hefty defeat
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The character and resilience of Caithness men's rugby side is going to be sorely tested this season, it has become depressingly apparent.
Saturday's 57-8 hiding at the hands of Ellon leaves them pointless, second to bottom in the north conference of Caley League Division One.
Their third hefty defeat in three games mires the Greens, who are currently without the services of a coach, at the lowest point in their 61-year history.
They are battling to retain their proud record of never having suffered a demotion since becoming part of the national league set-up 30 years ago.
Two factors in their favour are that all their league matches have been away and that Aberdeen Wanderers sit below them in the standings.
The struggling city side's record of two heavy defeats and one call-off leaves them bottom, on minus three.
Even this early on, the relegation spot is shaping up to be a straight shoot-out between Caithness and Wandies.
Ellon had problems with availability in the opening rounds but were close to full strength at the Meadows on Saturday.
Their 100 per cent home record against Caithness was never at risk against a side short of experienced, streetwise operators and with so many playing out of position.
Caithness survived early waves of pressure but Ellon blindside flanker Finlay Bridgeford exploited a chink in the defence to plough over for the opening try on 12 minutes.
Further tries from openside Lochlann Bridgeford and hooker John Campbell and two conversions from stand-off Bradley Fraser widened the gap to 19-0.
That presaged the visitors' best spell when they enjoyed primacy of possession and territory for most of the second quarter.
They looked good value for a try as they launched a wave of attacks in the home 22 but the pressure only yielded a penalty, potted by stand-off Jamie Mowat.
Back came the hosts, with lock forward Ellis Swainston grabbing the bonus-point try before opportunist tries either side of the interval by scrum-half Ryan Dickie killed off the game as a contest.
They added further touchdowns from loose head Jordan Gray and a second for Bridgeford midway through the half.
Three minutes later, the visitors grabbed a try when skipper Hamish Coghill forced his way over from a lineout eight metres out.
The run of scoring was completed soon after the restart with a try from Ellon lock Finlay Hagen.
Fraser added another three conversions, with Gray knocking over one.
Coghill, who has now scored tries in all of the Greens' six games this season, said it had been another bruising encounter for his side.
He said: "They are a very good side and I believe that was them pretty close to full strength.
"They had some big runners and we again had some defensive issues which cost us a few tries.
"But when we had ball in hand, we really looked really good and caused them problems."
Coghill said among the players asked to desert their normal roles was Cole Wilson, a regular prop with the Seconds last season, who played inside centre on Saturday.
Coghill praised the performances of debutant full-back Drew Mathieson; Garry McPhee, who made his first start for the 1sts at loose head; and another youngster, left winger Scott Mackay.
Coghill said lock Kevin Brims, the Greens' man of the match, was too often "an unsung hero".
"Brimsy is an absolute workhorse," he said. "He really doesn't get enough credit as a lot of what he does is unseen."
Looking ahead, Coghill said: "It's undoubtedly going to be a very challenging season for us. We're just going to have to tough it out.
"It's definitely a transitional season where we can hopefully bring on and develop guys for the future."
Caithness have no fixture on Saturday.
Moray's storming start to the season continued when they chalked up their third successive bonus point win with an 87-12 blitzing of Wanderers at Groats Road.
Caithness 2nds, who called off their scheduled visit to play Craig Dunain, entertain Kinloss Eagles at Millbank on Saturday (3pm).
Three rugby players from Caithness have just set off on a mission to France – not to watch a world cup but to play in one.
They are part of the Oban Lorne squad which has been invited to compete in the sport's inaugural amateur world cup.
Tommy Sutherland, Hamish Coghill and Steven Campbell will spend two weeks based in the spa town of Dignes-les-Baines in the south-east of the country.
They are part of Oban Lorne's squad in the tournament which comprises 20 amateur clubs from around the world.
Tommy played for Lorne when he was based there, running a hotel in Oban.
The 40-year-old prop, who lives with his wife and daughter in Thurso, has also played for Murrayfield Wanderers as well as Caithness.
Hamish, who is captain of the Greens this year, is guesting for the club in the tourney.
The 33-year-old firefighter at Dounreay has also played for Hartlepool Old Boys. He is versatile enough to play anywhere in the pack.
Steven, a former skipper of the Greens and former Caley League 1 player of the year, moved to the west coast several years ago, since when he has played for both Mull and Oban. The flanker, who can double as centre, was player of the match in Lorne's latest match versus Lenzie.
Their involvement in the tournament stemmed from a documentary a French TV producer did on grassroots rugby.
He focused on the Oban club and recommended that they should get an invite to the Mundial.
The club agreed to go and have been running a fundraising campaign to bankroll the trip.
The squad left on Thursday to prepare for their first match on Sunday versus Hamilton Sea-Point, from South Africa.
Their group also includes clubs from Tonga and Romania.
A fourth Caithness player, Australian Callum Atherton, was also due to have guested for Oban but he picked up an ankle injury and had to pull out.
