Findlater treble seals Highland's opening-day win
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A HAT-TRICK of tries from Andrew Findlater got Highland’s season off to a perfect start.
The returning Findlater scored his first before the break and two more in the second half as Dave Carson’s side beat Strathmore 17-5 in their BT Caledonia League Division One campaign opener.
Back row forward Findlater carried on his form from pre-season, where he added a pair of tries in the Greens’ last friendly game, a 34-19 victory over Perthshire. The result puts Highland fifth ahead of the weekend’s north derby against Caithness at Canal Park.
Head coach Carson had mixed emotions about the performance.
“You’re always pleased to win away from home but in the first half it just didn’t click,” he said. “We were sluggish and I don’t understand that, given how we played in pre-season.
“The coaches said before the game that the players seemed edgy and nervous, which is something we’ll have to address. It could be the expectations they’ve put on themselves.
“It was a total change in the second half — I don’t think they got in our half once. I suppose it says how far we’ve come in the last two years that players are coming off feeling like they’ve lost, despite the fact they have won.”
Carson also hailed the impact of Findlater, who returned to the side in the summer.
“Andrew has brought a lot of ideas to our lineout work and he got two of his tries from that,” said the head coach.
“He got it by just driving his opponent over the line and was really impressive all over the park.
“One player who stood out, one of the young lads we played last year, was Oscar Baird. He was outstanding.”
However, it was a different story for the under-18 side, who went down to an agonising 43-40 defeat against West of Scotland.
A try from Euan Milton put the hosts ahead for the first time, 28-22, at the start of the second half, but West immediately hit back with a pair of tries to retake the lead. Two further tries apiece meant the youngsters were left trailing by just three points at the final whistle.
There was better news for the club’s younger sides, who all faced their West counterparts. The under-16s romped to a 99-0 victory, while the under-15s emerged victorious 46-24. Highland’s under-14 squad notched the fourth victory of the weekend with a 36-3 win over West, with only the under-13s, who slipped up 28-13, tasting defeat among the younger age groups.
The Minis and Micros had a tournament at Scotstoun at the weekend which included forming a guard of honour for the Glasgow Warriors before their Guinness Pro12 fixture against the Scarlets.
