Shield triumph for Caithness under-14 boys after runaway win
The under-14 boys’ section of Caithness Rugby Club lifted silverware after scoring a runaway 61-0 win against Mackie.
The pair met on Sunday at Millbank in the Shield final of the Culblean Cup, which is open to clubs in the Caledonia region.
The junior Greens have been improving over the course of the season and their commitment to training and developing their game is now paying dividends.
They finished runners-up in their qualifying group before beating Orkney in the quarter-final of the main tournament.
Then, after losing to Moray in the main tournament semis, they won convincingly away to Banchory in the semi-finals of the shield.
On Sunday, they got off to a rocket-fuelled start with C Breeze and McKay running in the first two of their nine tries within the first three minutes.
The Stonehaven visitors went on to enjoy plenty of possession but they struggled to breach the well-organised Caithness defence.
Their commitment was exemplified by a backtracking, all-enveloping tackle by home winger L Breeze when an opponent looked nailed-on to sprint in from the halfway line late in the second half.
Mackie struggled to deal with the potent strike runners Caithness had in their armoury.
R Wright scored four tries and there were two for L Breeze, with J Miller also crossing.
The Breezes between them kicked eight of the nine conversions.
There was no shortage of candidates among the 22-strong squad for the coaches’ player-of-the-day accolade. They eventually plumped for the hard-working lock J Miller.
Head coach Donald Buchanan said: “We’re obviously delighted to get a piece of silverware. It is a culmination of games near and far with many training sessions in cold, wintry conditions.
“The boys are starting to play well together and they have developed a good team spirit.”
Caithness: Stevens, Mill, Jenkins, J Miller, Green, McLeod, Gunn, McKay, Davidson, C Breeze, O’Prey, Aitken, Wright, C Malcolm, Robertson, Sutherland, L Breeze, S Miller, Pottinger, Mackay, J Malcolm, Bremner.
