Harvey highlights progress in women’s rugby as Krakens take silverware in Orkney
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The Caithness women’s rugby team kept up their Midas touch as they returned with silverware from the Orkney Sevens.
Fresh from their National Plate victory at Murrayfield the previous week, the Krakens racked up 124 points without reply as they retained the Margaret Lanni Memorial Trophy on Saturday.
Caithness Co-Optimists ladies, meanwhile, came away with two wins and a defeat in the competition played on the outfield pitches at the Pickaquoy Centre in Kirkwall.
The Greens met with mixed fortunes in the men’s tournament, registering a win, a loss and a draw in their sectional ties.
The women’s event attracted five sides and was played on a round-robin basis. The all-Caithness clash, however, did not materialise as they had to leave early to catch the early-evening return ferry from St Margaret’s Hope.
By then, the Krakens could not be knocked off top spot.
They opened with a runaway 43-0 win over Dragons Noir, one of the two Orkney teams, with tries from skipper Caitlin Harvey (3), Emmie Smith (2), Carly Erridge and Lauren Gunn.
They followed that up with a 36-0 defeat of Inverness Craig Dunain with tries from Erridge (2), Smith, Hannah Dunnett, Gunn and Justine Mackay.
Tries from Harvey (3), Helen Richard, Dunnett, Smith and Erridge then did the damage in their 45-0 slaying of Dragons Rouge.
A try in each half by centre Devin Stuart helped the Co-Optimists defeat Dragons Rouge 12-5 in their opening fixture. They went on to see off Dragons Noir 17-0 before losing out 27-5 to Craig Dunain.
The Inverness side, who defeated both Orkney sides, finished second.
Harvey was delighted with the outcome and the performance of both of the Caithness teams.
“Everyone did their bit and it was nice that the Krakens did not concede a try in their three games,” she said.
The 27-year-old added: “It’s just brilliant how much women’s rugby has progressed in the county. The strides it has taken since I was a teenager have been phenomenal.
“We have an established [15-a-side] team and there are some really good girls coming through who can see a clear pathway into the women’s game.”
Harvey pointed to the clutch of county-bred youngsters who have won under-16 and under-18 Scottish honours over the past couple of seasons.
After returning from Orkney, the club hosted a celebration in the Thurso clubhouse to mark the Krakens’ national success.
Their season ends when they host the Caithness Sevens at Millbank on June 1, part of the club’s annual Come Ashore Cup held in memory of former player Alexander Mill.
Caithness also had a men’s team at the Sevens. The first of their three section ties versus Orkney opposition saw them draw 17-17 with Neeps and Tatties. Their try-scorers were Kevin Brims, Max Kennedy and Jamie Mowat, with the latter adding a penalty.
The Greens then crashed to a 22-0 defeat by The Exporters before dismantling Can’t Be Wurst 53-0. Scott Mackay and Euan MacDonald each grabbed a hat-trick of tries with the others falling to Max Kennedy (2) and Tom Storey with MacDonald (2), Mowat and Kennedy chipping in with conversions.
Greens old boys Tom McGee, Derek Mill and George Sutherland turned out for the Orkney Auld Bulls, who ended up winning the Pail.
Orkney “A” extended their winning sequence in the men’s competition to five after defeating the Ale Stars 36-5 in the final.
