Sickness strikes Greens squad
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A FLU bug that consigned a large number of Highland’s squad to their beds resulted in Saturday’s trip to Strathmore being called off.
Ellon, however, showed that they could still play and their winger went in for a last converted score. This win sets Highland up nicely in the Under-18 Premier League and for their next tricky encounters, first with Deeside and then against Orkney.
The home side sensed they needed to put the game beyond Ellon’s reach and countered with a strong spell of their own that resulted in another try from Clark and two by Roddy MacKenzie. Rory Carson converted the last try after seven previous misses for 42-12.
Ellon had been under the cosh for quite a while, but came back at Highland and in a good spell scored two tries and a conversion to make things closer at 25-12.
In the second-half Highland kept up the pressure. Tom Brogan broke through and although tackled just short, Blair Lockwood picked up to score for 25-0.
Despite missing some key forwards, those coming in did very well and helped Highland to a bright start. An early try from John Stirling got things going and it was followed up two tries from James Murray and one by John Clark as they surged into a 20-0 half-time lead.
Meanwhile, Highland’s under-18s got the next stage of their league campaign off to a fine start with a 42-19 home victory over a very capable Ellon side.
The victory and the bonus points that came with it give Highland’s second team the edge at the top of the table, leading by a point from closest challengers Strathspey.
The match presented the chance for a few first-team squad members to get in some much-needed match fitness as the Reds strolled to a comprehensive 98-8 triumph.
The Reds game at Canal Park against city rivals Inverness Craig Dunain was also under threat for a while, but this Caledonia Regional League Division Three North West encounter did get the go ahead.
After contacting Strathmore to let them know of the problem, the scheduled fixture at the weekend was cancelled and will now instead be played on 17th December.
The Greens numbers were severely limited at Thursday night training and with the loss of all available players in the front row, the decision was taken by director of rugby Hugh Mackintosh to seek a postponement.
