Highland head coach Dave Carson says Melrose is a must win match in Inverness
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Dave Carson believes it is imperative that Highland Rugby Club pick up a victory over Melrose at Canal Park tomorrow afternoon if they are to stand a chance of earning promotion.
Highland sit in fifth place in National One going into the fixture, but with the midway point of the season fast approaching they have ground to make up on leaders Kelso.
Melrose are in the mix at the top too, and if they can beat Highland there will be at least 10 points separating the Inverness outfit from the top four.
Dreams of promotion to Scottish Rugby’s top flight are made all the more difficult by just one team going up – a change from how Highland rose through the pyramid when two teams would earn promotion.
With that in mind, Carson is keen to close the gap to the top as soon as possible to stay in with a chance.
“We really need to get four points in this one and get a bit closer to the top, then we’ve got two away games against teams down at the bottom,” he said.
“With us, that doesn’t mean anything, but we would be hoping to get some points down there as well.
“I’ve said all along that we need to win all our home games if we want to be there or thereabouts.
“In this division, the SRU only let one up where in every other league it’s two. That certainly doesn’t help, and if one team pulls away early on there isn’t much left for us because nobody is fighting for the scraps of a runners-up place.
“We went up into National One as runners up, so in that respect it needs looking at higher up the chain in Murrayfield.
“Every other division is two up, two down, so I’ve no idea why that’s not the case in this league. I imagine it’s the power of the Premiership, saying only one will go down.
“We’ve got to keep in touch for as long as possible, and if we’re still there or thereabouts for the final six games, anything can happen. To do that, we’ve got to get four points this week.”
