Hat-trick hero Craig Findlater inspires Highland to opening-day win
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HIGHLAND marked their return to National League rugby in emphatic style with a bonus-point win over Orkney.
A hat-trick from winger Craig Findlater helped Highland to a 40-17 victory and the perfect start to their league campaign.
The visitors to Canal Park were on the back foot from the start and were never really in the game. A delayed kick-off, due to Orkney arriving late, still did not give them enough time to prepare for a Highland side determined to take five points from their home opener.
Alongside Findlater, fly-half Scott Fraser was the other key performer, kicking 15 points and continuing his impressive early-season form.
Fraser was the first on the board with two penalties in the opening 10 minutes, giving Highland a lead they never relinquished.
Findlater got his first try inside 20 minutes as quick ball-handling shifted the ball out to him on the left flank and using his explosive pace, he burst over in the corner for an unconverted try.
He did not have to wait long for his second and again, highlighted his speed by burning past two Orkney defenders and evading their tackles, before taking the ball down underneath the posts. Fraser made the conversion this time and Highland were already 18-0 to the good against the islanders..
Fraser then added his third penalty but Orkney were finally on the board before the break, with Duncan Gray crossing and Philip Ross kicked the conversion to reduce the deficit to 21-7.
Not content to let his brother hog the headlines, new captain Andrew Findlater helped set up Highland’s third try minutes into the second half.
He broke through the middle and carried the ball a good 30-40 yards before being held up, but the ball was spread to Ruaridh MacDonald to score in the corner.
Ross added a penalty of his own to take Orkney into double figures and for a while, it looked like they were going to hold Highland short of getting the fourth try required for a bonus-point win.
However, great work by Rory Cross teed up Craig Findlater to complete his hat-trick with six minutes to go and continue to pad the scoreline.
The home side were not done there as Lyall Archer added try number five, following a break by Oscar Baird, and a Fraser conversion ensured 40 points on the board for the greens. Ross went over for a consolation try with the last action of the game and converted it, to complete the scoring.
In the absence of head coach Dave Carson, who was on holiday, it was a near-perfect start to National Three. There were things to improve on – handling was not always secure and decision-making could have been better. However, coaches Chris Brogan and Alister Wemyss cannot be too disgruntled with the win against a side they hope to emulate this season.
Also playing their first league fixture of the season were Highland’s second XV, who took on Ross Sutherland at Canal Park after the first XV match. The good condition of the pitch meant they could play on the main pitch after the firsts.
Highland went through a rough patch after Craig Irvine was yellow-carded for a late tackle. Yet they survived this and once back to 15, the deadlock was broken by a burst through the Ross defence by Darren Macleod to score. The game continued as a very close affair and although the visitors were able to reply Highland edged them out for a 28-10 win. The bonus-point win is a very good start given they had not played as a unit prior to the game due to cancelled pre-season games.
Also on Saturday Highland’s under-18s went to Ayr for the weekend’s President’s Conference fixture. Despite the youngsters’ good showings so far they were up against a strong side and went down 26-8. They now need to pick themselves up for next weekend’s visit of Stirling County.
