Greens emerge injury-free from festive clash with Exiles
Caithness head coach Cameron Boyd was happy to report a clean bill of health after the Boxing Day outing.
Apart from a collection of bumps and bruises, his squad emerged injury-free from their annual tussle versus the Exiles.
Already resigned to be without inside centre Charlie Quinn (knee ligaments) for the remainder of the Caley 1 campaign, they discovered back-rower Reece Coghill fractured a leg in the closing minutes of the last league match against Ross Sutherland.
Coghill did not suspect anything particularly untoward after hirpling off but it was later confirmed he had cracked a fibula bone.
Outside centre Dougie Webster also missed last Thursday’s game with a hip problem but he hopes to be fit for the January 11 home match against Ellon.
His brother, full-back Scott Webster, has missed the last couple of months with a shoulder injury but he too is targeting a January return.
Second-row Kevin Budge will miss the Ellon game after his sending-off in the away match versus Highland Seconds.
Boyd was happy with the overall performance in the 37-17 victory over the Exiles.
“It was pretty even but I thought we managed the game very well,” he said. “I was really pleased with our defence and particularly how we stood up to several long spells of attacks on our line and managed to turn the ball over.”
Boyd pinpointed stand-off Marc Anderson as a key performer, with his range of precision kicking featuring in the lead-up to most of the tries.
Stuart Kirk, who organised the Exiles, was restricted to a touchline role while he recuperates from surgery to ligament damage to a hand.
The Dundee-based final-year student from Castletown was proud of the effort and resilience of his squad.
“This fixture means a lot to the club and our guys played a full part in what was a really competitive game,” he said.
“All of them put in a really good shift and I thought the final scoreline was a bit harsh on us.”
He agreed with Boyd that Anderson’s kicking had played a key role in the outcome of the match. “Milky [Anderson] kicked us off the park,” he reflected.
The Krakens ran out 42-26 winners in their match. Coach Mike Flavell was happy his side got a run-out to help them prepare for their forthcoming final league match at home versus Orkney and the National Shield.
“As it was 10-a-side, it put a premium on our fitness,” he said. “Given the conditions were pretty greasy, I thought the handling of the players on both sides was really good.
"Our support play and passing was generally good and we didn’t drop too many balls. Perhaps the difference between the side was that we had some big runners to finish off our attacks.”
Flavell was impressed with the display of several home-based players who had drifted out of the game and he hopes to see them get back involved with the Krakens.
