Stylish victory secures a quarter-final place for junior Greens
Caithness under-18s clinched a quarter-final place in the Saltire Energy Caledonia Bowl on Saturday with a stylish 41-7 win over Ross Sutherland.
The seven-tries-to-one margin of victory at Millbank was harsh on the visitors, who battled gamely but lacked the firepower the home side had to finish off attacks.
The tie, which was 14-a-side, was very much in the balance when Ross scored a converted try just after the interval to narrow their deficit to 10-7. Caithness had established the lead thanks to long-range tries from their hard-running centres Matty Long and Olly Ruff.
The junior Greens quickly responded to the Ross score when another powerful break from Ruff saw him touch down wide on the left despite a dangerous high tackle on him. Referee Russell Mill awarded a penalty try, with the offender sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
Caithness took advantage of the extra man when captain Connor Allan scored with a tap-and-go from a penalty.
Further touchdowns from scrum-half Logan McNeil, and Ruff again, both converted by McNeil, had them in cruise control.
The icing was put on the cake by a late try from lock Marco Chan.
Caithness finish their Bowl group games with a visit to Orkney on Saturday.