‘Maybe they need to hear a different voice’: Boyd steps down as Greens’ head coach
Caithness Rugby Club is looking for a new head coach for its men’s 1st XV after parting company with Cameron Boyd.
He has stepped down after an 18-month stint in charge of the Greens. After joining in 2015 as a player and community coach, he was appointed the club’s first Seconds team coach in 2021.
The club has placed an advertisement seeking candidates to take over the unpaid 1st XV role.
Boyd took over the reins in the wake of the retirements of half a dozen or so long-time regulars, which required the blooding of a string of promising but largely untested youngsters.
Lack of availability also meant he struggled to assemble competitive squads on the road, while the home fixture card has been blighted by call-offs.
He oversaw four wins and nine defeats in league and cup outings in the season just finished.
He has had to juggle his home-based job with a Highland care charity with his coaching duties and his undertaking of an advanced rugby coaching course.
Confirming this week his decision to step down, Boyd said: “This season has been a really difficult one and I was finding it was taking more and more of my time.
“I would be putting in 30 hours a week and still not feel I was doing enough, and I didn’t expect the workload to be any less next season.”
As well as his commitment to the 1sts, he took charge of the 2nd XV when he was available.
Boyd, who had David Pottinger and Kevin Budge as his 1st XV assistants, said: “I think it’s best for me and the club to step down and let someone else have a crack at it.
“I’ve been involved with the playing group since 2020 and maybe they need to hear a different voice.”
Boyd took over as head coach at the end of October 2023 from Kenny Russell, who resigned two games into the start of the season.
The Greens ended up second from bottom in this season’s North Conference of Caledonia Division One.
Their scheduled final match at home to North Police on April 5 was scrubbed after the service side called off. Because of several previous no-shows, that led to them being ejected from the league and all their results being annulled.
The revised placings saw Caithness jump above Ross Sutherland, who finished bottom.
Caithness and other Caley clubs are meanwhile awaiting the outcome of Scottish Rugby’s latest rejig of the league structure to find out what division they are in next season.