Late try denies Highland youngsters
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HIGHLAND’S under-16s saw their end of season dream dashed as they lost narrowly 19-13 to Ayr in the National Bowl final at Murrayfield.
The city club took the game to Ayr and were first to score with a touchdown by Ruari Casey, which was converted by Hamish Hepburn, despite the blustery conditions.
Ayr rallied and came back with an unconverted score by Sam Gray, but Highland held onto their 7-5 lead going in at the interval.
Highland thought they had further extended their advantage early in the second half only to see a try ruled out for what the referee deemed to be a forward pass.
A Hepburn penalty, however, made it 10-5 in Highland’s favour, but they suffered a setback when Fionnlagh Call was sin-binned.
This crucial decision handed the initiative to Ayr, who struck back with a try from Hamish McIntosh, converted by Johnny McCorkindale, to take a 12-10 lead.
Highland’s response was another penalty by Hepburn to move them in front by a point going in the latter stages of this engrossing contest.
But the city club’s hopes of landing the silverware were ended when McCorkindale scored a decisive try, that he also converted, to complete the scoring.
Highland will feel luck was not on their side, but they played with great determination and can take plenty of positives from a performance that bodes well for the future of rugby in Inverness.
Meanwhile, Highland host their annual seven-a-side tournament, sponsored by the Robertson Group, at Canal Park tomorrow.
Despite late league matches having forced withdrawals, the numbers have climbed back up with a confirmed 16 sides all set to take part.
The tournament will start as four round-robin groups of four leading to the knockout stages with the first placed teams making up the semi-finals of the Lauder Cup.
Second placed side’s will contest the new Highland Shield, donated by the Gorman Family, while the third placed clubs go into the Ian Milne Memorial Bowl.
The groups have already been drawn for the tournament and are as follows:
Group One — Highland, Inverness Craig Dunain, MacKinnons, 57 North. Group Two — Young Team Virgins, Mackie Bears, Moray, Red Hackle Rugby. Group Three — Buccaneers, Highland Reds, Isle of Mull, We Used To Be Good. Group Four — Caithness, Fort George RFC, Ross Sutherland, Perthshire.
Isle of Mull return to defend their Lauder Cup title, but the current favourites to land this prize are Fort George, who recently won the Garioch 7’s.
A good pool of referees will oversee the day including Kevin White, who will lead the Scottish contingent at the Moscow World Cup 7’s in June.
The tournament starts at 12.45pm and will be run across four pitches. There will also be a beer tent, BBQ, merchandise stall, tea tent and plenty of entertainment with over five hours of rugby. Entry is £5 for adults, while under-18s go free of charge.
