Highland do the double
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HIGHLAND gave themselves two reasons to celebrate after a convincing 50-3 success at Stornoway.
Not only did the victory win them the RBS North Regional Bowl, but as the game was also used as a double header for the league, which meant the win for the city club also meant they were crowned RBS Caledonia League Division Two North champions.
After the disappointment of relegation last season, it has been an impressive turn around in fortunes at Highland under the guidance of head coach Davie Carson.
His promise to only select players able to fully commit to training has paid big dividends, especially in away matches where Highland, in the past, have struggled for numbers.
Despite the very early start to catch their flight to Stornoway, Highland showed no adverse effects from their journey when the game began.
It took them just five minutes to score their first try, Craig Findlater going over to start what would be a memorable day for Highland.
The visitors kept up the pressure and try as hard as they might, Stornoway struggled to hold up a scrum near their line. Increasingly desperate, they blatantly infringed, leaving the referee no option but to award a penalty try and Highland, with the conversion from Scott Fraser, went 12-0 in front.
This short period set Highland up for the victory and their next target was four tries for the league bonus point.
At this stage Stornoway made an impact by slowing down Highland’s play and even managed to get on the scoreboard themselves with a converted penalty.
This did not last long, however, and Highland got back on track and restarted their scoring in the second half.
Highland ran in a further six tries with a brace each for Richard Sim and Matt Allan and one from Gareth High and Darren MacLeod. Two more conversions from Fraser and one each by Craig Irvine and Calum Carson eventually sealed a resounding triumph.
Highland were simply a class above Stornoway and if they were on better form they would have won by a more comfortable margin.
Securing both trophies was reason enough for a bit of celebration on the ferry back to Ullapool, but it is swiftly back to preparations during the week as they ready themselves for their National Bowl semi-final against Uddingston at the end of the month.
Club President Neil Rennie has been delighted with the progress the squad, especially reaching their first two targets of winning the league title and the North Regional Bowl.
Meanwhile, Highland’s under-16s continued their preparations for their forthcoming Shield final with a convincing 60-10 success over Caithness in a friendly at Canal Park.
The city’s club’s home venue was a busy place at the weekend with 25 teams making the journey to Inverness to take part in Highland’s annual mini tournament. Lochaber ran out winners of the primary four/five age group, while it was a home success for Highland in the primary six/seven section.
