Strong second half sees Highland to victory
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A STRONG second-half performance saw Highland overcome Strathmore for a resounding 49-16 victory.
The form book suggested that this would be a close game which is just what the home support got and made things a bit nervy for some time. Highland struggled to get into their game and with the visitors pressing, the home side were penalised several times for offside. The visitors converted one of these free kicks for the first score and a 3-0 lead.
Highland clawed their way into the game and some good ball out wide saw winger Steven Rutledge touch down in the corner for a 5-3 lead. Yet it was against the run of play as Strathmore continued to frustrate Highland and this saw one of their pushes down the wing benefit from some missed tackles for a try.
Although still fighting for control, Highland were getting more ball, which they were quite happy to put out wide for their backs to exploit. One opportunity saw Craig Irvine chip over the defending Strathmore line for Craig Findlater to run onto, collect and score in the corner.
Highland were definitely getting more ball now and putting the visitors under pressure. A penalty allowed Irvine to place a kick deep inside the Strathmore half and from here, a couple of set-pieces saw quick ball break the visitor’s line and Stephen Murray crashed through tacklers. He popped the ball to Epi Vukicea to touch down and with Irvine’s conversion it was now 17-8.
Despite this edge the game still was not settled and Strathmore still managed to frustrate the home side, leading to another penalty being converted for 17-11.
The hosts were looking very dangerous out wide and from a very good scrummage quick ball switched to the blind-side and Rutledge scored for his second try. A great conversion by Irvine made it 24-11.
The visitors still were not subdued and a long penalty kick saw them deep in Highland territory for a line-out. They fought hard and collected an unconverted try for a 24-16 half-time score.
The half-time talk by Morris Dillon, leading the coaching staff with Dave Carson away on business, was forthright and he urged his squad to cut out the mistakes. He got just what he wanted as the pack competed more robustly winning more ball for the backs. The pressure was immediately felt by Strathmore and a penalty was converted by Irvine. This was followed by a yellow card for the visitors for continually infringing and Irvine added another penalty.
The win was more or less confirmed when constant pressure on the visitor’s line drew in the defence and when the ball went wide, it was easy for Vukicea to score his second try, followed by Irvine’s conversion. Darren MacLeod benefited from a looped pass from Vukicea who drew the last defenders to add to the score before Rutledge, using his pace to race along the line, completed
his hat-trick for the final score of
49-16.
This was just the encounter Highland needed to work hard and unlock their skills at a higher level. It took nearly half the game for them to settle and then compete against a very well-drilled side. But it clearly showed what the squad is capable of.
The under-18s continued their fine form with a well-deserved 29-8 victory away to Falkirk. Highland were missing a couple of regulars yet it was still a strong squad that made the trip. The visitors dominated early on and the pressure saw the forwards produce clean ball to go out wide for Ruari Casey to score. Falkirk hit back with a penalty after Highland infringed for 7-3, yet Highland hit straight back from the restart as Ewan Milton picked up from the back of a scrum to put Aiden Kent through for his first try of the season.
Highland kept up the tempo and were held off by some poor final passes and some firm home defence. Fionnlagh Call missed out on one chance, only to make good minutes later from the base of a scrum. His try and conversion made it 19-3 at half-time.
Falkirk came out strongly in the second-half and the pressure knocked Highland out of their stride. Penalties followed and when they mounted up Highland’s Jake Mills was given a yellow card. Falkirk used the man advantage to up the pressure and Highland nearly survived the 10 minutes before Falkirk scored in the corner for 19-8.
With Mills back on, Highland got back to business with a try from Milton and the scoring was rounded off by Call getting his second for
29-8.
