Raptors maintain two-point gap at top with win over North Police in Inverness
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Highland 2nd XV made sure to hold on to top spot in Caledonia North Two with a 60–29 victory over North Police Scotland.
Going into the match it had looked as though North Police could pose a tough challenge for the Raptors, as they were sitting third in the league table and ran the defending champions very close in Aberdeen back in September.
However, Highland racked up the points to win and maintain their two-point lead at the top over Aberdeen Grammar 2nds, who beat Mackie Academy 29-21.
There were so many points that Raptors coach Nathan McLaughlan could not even keep up with how many tries were scored, but he was happy with the performance nonetheless.
“It was really good, Police are sitting third in the league, so they’re one of the better teams out there,” he explained.
“It was a brilliant result at home, especially given our tight result away there earlier in the season.
“It was really pleasing. It wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch, there were still a few handling errors and we were still a little bit rusty in parts, but to be able to play at that level on our first game back after what was nearly two months away was fantastic.
“It just shows the hard work that the boys have been putting in during training really.”
One 18-year-old stood out for McLaughlan in his senior debut, but he was generally pleased with the team’s style of play in poor conditions.
“We had young Owain Leeming making his debut for us, up from the under-18s and he played very well in a great debut performance for us,” McLaughlan said.
“Craig Findlater was playing for us and scored a couple of tries. There was actually quite a good spread of tries around the team.
“There was some really good attacking rugby played, especially considering the conditions. I was really pleased with that.”
