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Krakens emerge triumphant in inaugural seven-a-side tournament


By Iain Grant

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The Caithness Krakens celebrate their victory on Saturday.
The Caithness Krakens celebrate their victory on Saturday.

The Krakens received a pre-season boost when they emerged triumphant in their inaugural seven-a-side tournament at Millbank at the weekend.

It attracted six entries, with Caithness and Dundee Valkyries each fielding two sides, along with teams from Orkney and Moray/Huntly.

The event was the second on a Highland circuit and club officials are keen to make it an annual fixture.

Saturday's competition was played in a round-robin format using the two pitches.

With Caithness 1 and Valykries 1 each winning their first four games, their clash – the last game on the programme – amounted to a final.

The visitors looked the more incisive early on and Erin Davie appeared to have drawn first blood after she touched down after a well-worked move.

But she was thwarted by a referee assistant's flag for a team-mate having offloaded after trodding on the touchline.

Both defences impressed as the teams' respective strike runners found they did not have the licence to roam which they had been afforded in their previous tussles.

By the interval they were tied at 5-5, Emily Flavell's opening try being cancelled out by a long-range run-in from Davie.

The Krakens upped the ante in the second half and their quick recycling and good links saw them forge a decisive lead.

Flavell grabbed an opportunist second try before a cracking passage of play from wide right to wide left saw Morgan Nellies gather a pass from her bootlaces to cross to make it 15-5.

Kirsty Grant grabbed a fourth before Jamie Lee's counter at the other end late on saw the Krakens prevail 20-10.

Caithness 2 lost all their five games but scored a bundle of tries and notably improved throughout the afternoon.

Caithness players were Helen Richard, Devin Stuart, Katie Mackay, Emily Flavell, Karyln Bernard, Morgen Nellies, Ellie Anderson, Vicki Dunnett, Abby O'Brien, Kirsty Grant, Louise Sinclair, Kay Nicolson, Shauna Malcolm, Carly Ferrier, Kat Andrews, Ashley McLean, Megan Douglas and Lany Jones.

The Highland series, which started with Orkney, continues on Saturday with a tournament at Ross Sutherland, followed by Highland a week on Saturday. The aggregate points winners and runners-up will then face off with their counterparts in the Grampian series to decide the overall north champions.

Caithness club president Frank Bremner said: "It was great to see the visiting teams and we're now hoping to make it an annual event.

"Ideally, next time we'd want to have a men's sevens and perhaps a veterans' sevens as well."


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