Seven's success for Highland
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FINE spring weather ensured that players and spectators alike enjoyed a great day’s seven-a-side rugby at Canal Park.
With so many clubs tied up due to the league season running over scheduled and competition from other tournaments, a smaller number of only eight entrants was to be expected.
Yet it was a bit of a blow to organisers to lose Ross Sutherland without warning just before the day started, although with a small change of timings the day ran smoothly.
From the seven teams entered, three competed in pool one — Highland, Mackie Bears and Young Team, who are a side made up from former Highland under-18 players.
Mackie lost out narrowly in both their games to drop into the Bowl final. In the pool decider, Highland were just too strong for their younger colleagues and qualified for the Lauder Cup final, while the Young Team got the slot in the Highland Shield final.
In pool two, four teams played a longer round-robin that saw reigning champions We Used To Be Good score a lot of points in each game to reach the Cup final.
Inverness Craig Dunain were outgunned in two of their games after putting a big effort into nearly defeating the Black Watch and went out of the tournament.
The other finalists were decided in the Black Watch versus Lochaber game and it was the former who qualified for the Shield final, while the small Lochaber squad dropped into the Iain Milne Bowl final.
The finals began with the match for the Bowl and Mackie Bears showed how strong they were, running out 54-0 winners over Lochaber.
The Highland Shield saw a repeat of last year’s Bowl final, but this time the Young Team got a measure of revenge on the Black Watch courtesy of a 28-5 triumph.
The final of the Cup saw a re-run of last year’s final as well, Highland taking on We Used To Be Good.
We Used To Be Good is made up of the Highland under-18 squad from 11 years ago and with many part of the current Highland first-team squad, they proved to be too much of a handful for the official Highland side, emerging victorious courtesy of a 22-5 success.
Meanwhile, Highland’s under-12 squad battled their way through a large field to reach the semi-finals of the London Irish International Festival before bowing out of the competition.
