Highland recruits to get chance to shine in Alloa test
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NEW recruits for Highland’s National League tilt will get another chance to impress when they face Alloa tomorrow.
Head coach Dave Carson has added six new faces ahead of the start of the season, which gets underway next weekend with a trip to St Boswells in the BT Cup.
Their last pre-season contest comes in the form of Alloa, who won promotion to Caledonia One last season and replaced Highland, who went up as league champions.
It will be another chance for Carson to see his signings in action, as he looks to formalise his starting XV for the opening game.
Mike Gordon and Lewis Macleod have joined the club from neighbours Ross Sutherland, who play out of Invergordon, have both signed on, as has winger Darren Macleod, who was part of Highland’s double-winning side in 2014 before moving to Australia.
Carson is most impressed though with someone who was progressed through the club ranks and got a taste of first-team rugby towards the end of last season.
Alex Murray – another winger to add to their arsenal – has made the step up from the under-18s and his showings in pre-season have caught Carson’s eye.
"He played at the tail-end of last season in the Jack Henderson Cup match against Ross Sutherland, but he’s really thrown himself into it during pre-season," said Carson. "He’s quick, strong and very aggressive – he just needs a wee bit of work on technique.
"The guys from Ross Sutherland want to test themselves at a higher level. Mike did OK against Edinburgh last weekend but tweaked his hamstring at training on Tuesday.
"Lewis will prove useful as it’s always difficult to get front row players. He knows what he’s doing in the scrum and it’s just about adapting to the way we do things."
The strengthening on the wings comes in the wake of Richard Sim’s decision to step away from the game at the end of last season.
Gordon will be assessed prior to the Alloa game, but the rest should be ready to press their case for a starting spot against St Boswells.
"We’ll not take as many down as last week, as we need to nail down a side for the cup game," added Carson, who will be without backs Tam Magowan and Steven Rutledge, who both returned from the pre-season tour of Ireland with knee injuries.
"We’ve got contacts with Henry Edwards, who’s head coach at Alloa, through our coach Porky Wemyss. He played with him years ago in the North Midlands League.
"It’ll be a good chance for guys to go down and there and show what they can do."
Alloa start their league campaign next weekend too with a home game against Deeside, after they won a thrilling battle with Harris Academy for the Caledonia Two Midlands title.
Both teams finished on 75 points and 15 wins from 16 games. Alloa went up as champions, on the virtue of having a better points-difference than their fellow title contenders, after amassing over 1000 points over the campaign.
Fitness work has been the order of the week for Highland, with many taking last weekend’s loss to National One side Edinburgh Accies as an indication they need to step up.
Carson hailed the workout at the time, preferring to go through a physical challenge rather than running up scores against lower opposition, and has been impressed with the commitment his players have shown.
"They’ve been put through their paces by Jazz Hepburn and they all asked to do an extra 10 minutes of running after training on Tuesday night," said Carson.
"We’ve been on about it since the start of pre-season – we need to work harder, get fitter and stronger."
For the club’s under-18 side, they continue their preparations for the start of the Presidents Conference a week tomorrow.
They open their campaign with a home tie against Boroughmuir in the six-team league, which proved hugely successful last season in getting players competitive rugby, ahead of stepping up to the first XV.
Highland’s second string do not open their league campaign until September 3 – a derby with Ross Sutherland being their first game.
