Strong Highland squad to take on title challengers
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HIGHLAND will have their strongest squad of the season for the visit of title contenders Gordonians to Canal Park tomorrow.
Head coach Dave Carson will be without James Taylor and Tam Magowan — whose hand injury looks like keeping him out for the rest of the season — for the game against the Aberdeen side, who are just three points off leaders Orkney in third place.
To maintain title aspirations of their own, Highland need a victory with 14 points separating them from the islanders, with a game in hand.
Craig Findlater, Rory Cross and Richard Sim are all itching to get out on the field for a team that has not had a competitive game since the start of December. The latest players to join the squad are scrum-half Craig Little and stand-off Craig Irvine.
Bad weather has put paid to several league fixtures and frustration has set in among the squad, but it has allowed Carson to get bodies back for a crucial spell of the season.
“It’s great to have everyone back and without doubt it’s the strongest we’ve been all season,” said Carson. “It comes at the perfect time.
“We have got the top three sides at home to come and there’s no reason why we can’t beat them all. We need to start this week, then build from there.
“There’s still a few teams down the bottom end of the table that we’ve got to travel to, which won’t be an easy run, and it will be a big challenge for the boys.”
The contest between the two sides at Countesswells in October was decided by a solitary try, with Gordonians coming out on top 27-20. Andrew Cowie (two) and Richard Murdoch scored tries for the hosts, while Eamon Guinan and Gareth High responded for Highland.
Highland’s last competitive action came with a win over Morgan Academy last month and Carson admitted it has been a challenge to keep his side motivated without the incentive of a league match.
“We haven’t played since December and you can only keep training interesting for so long. We’ve been at the gym and at Millburn Academy practising hand skills and even done some spinning,” he said.
“We’ve been outside briefly but last week there was no point going out at all. The grass was sodden. You’ve got a lot of guys who are very frustrated and desperate to get going again, and they’ve got a big game to look forward to.”
Gordonians have lost just once all season, against Orkney at the start of November, and will consider themselves favourites for the game against Carson’s side.
However, the Highland head coach has a plan to deal with the third-placed side.
“We matched them down there but were a wee bit short in the backs. We took them on well up front, even with a very young squad,” said Carson.
“But we’ve got a huge pack available to us and we’ll be looking to demolish them up front and starve them of the ball. That will allow us to get quick ball out to our backs, where we’ve got pace.”
The under-18 side are also in action in the National Youth League Cup, with a quarter-final tie against West of Scotland that, like the first XV, will depend on the state of the Canal Park pitches.
Highland’s under-18s have swept all before them in the league this season, losing just once and sitting four points clear at the top of the table. Carson hopes to bring a few members into his squad.
“A few of the boys are still making up their mind if they’ll be staying or going, but we’re hoping to get keep half a dozen of them around and have them in the first-team next season.”
