Upwardly-mobile Dumfries hand out a harsh lesson
Dumfries 53, Caithness 3
Published: 14 September, 2007
THIS sobering defeat underlines the challenge facing the Greens to maintain their hard-won upper-flight status in the game's pecking order.

Taking to the road with a weakened, inexperienced squad to play hard-edged, upwardly-mobile opponents seldom has a happy ending.

From the kick-off at Park Farm, Caithness were up against it as they faced last year's National Division 3 champions, still smarting from their defeat in Inverness the week before.

Caithness, for their part, should have had the confidence instilled from an opening-day home victory over Stewartry. But the Greens' cause was over long before the end as they wilted in the face of incessant pressure.

The Saints ran in nine tries, with some woeful tackling contributing to the final margin of victory.

Coach Jim MacMillan's lack of resources forced him into selecting an unfamiliar starting line-up.

In the absence of Kris Hamilton – on representative under-18 duty – and Graham Fryer, working offshore, hooker-cum-wing-forward Stevie Campbell found himself occupying the No. 9 shirt. Danny Budge was in the second row despite not having played rugby this season, while Kris Gove was full-back in a fledgling back division.

The new formation did not get a chance to settle as Dumfries's probing for chinks in the visitors' armour paid dividends from the first line-out when winger Sam Hiddleston scored in less-than-spectacular style. He picked up from the base of a ruck which developed from the set-piece to drive over.

With home fly-half Eck Bryden using the tailwind to good effect, the Saints went on to score five more tries before the interval.

Scrum-half Andy Walker's kick ahead was the spark for the second, scored by winger Kenny Henderson.

Further tries by Bryden, full-back Tom Hiddleston and Stuart Clanachan, three converted by Tom Hiddleston, made it 31-0 after 25 minutes.

Adding to the visitors' woes was the enforced departure of Budge shortly afterwards with a back injury.

The Greens needed to tighten up their defence and this they did for much of the remainder of the half, when they also managed to ask questions of the Saints.

The home side, however, grabbed a sixth touchdown with the final action of the half, Tom Hiddleston completing a move with a 50-yard sprint to the line.

The day got worse for the Greens when they conceded from the restart after the turnaround. Young replacements Ross and Daniel Henderson combined to put Sam Hiddleston over.

The Greens regrouped again, with tyro stand-off Gary Mackay using the wind advantage to finally allow his side to put together some sustained attacks. The pressure told with a penalty which Mackay converted to reduce the leeway to 41-3.

Caithness, however, faded in the latter stages and a charge-down allowed Sam Hiddleston to grab his third try of the day.

Forward replacement Daniel Henderson's late finish to a catch-and-drive near the Caithness line and Tom Hiddleston's fourth conversion completed a miserable day for the Far North outfit.

Dumfries coach Tam McGaw said: "I was very happy with the way the boys came back from last week. We got our shape and our game plan right and they worked hard."

Jim MacMillan knows he will have to be patient to allow his teenage charges to develop and get used to the pace and intensity of NLD2 rugby. "We're blooding a lot of youngsters this season and we know things are not going to go our way all the time," he said. "It's another game under their belts and they are learning all the time."

MacMillan said the welter of changes had caused a lot of disruption and contributed to their very poor start. He said of Dumfries: "They were a reasonable side but they didn't do anything too flash.

"They did score tries out wide, but they didn't throw the ball about too much. To be honest, it shouldn't have been difficult to defend quite a few of the tries they got."

He cited three bog-standard back-row tries his side conceded and others where a lack of basic tackling was to blame.

On a positive note, he was happy with how New Zealander Steve Duval – a prop to trade – performed at hooker on his competitive debut for the club and with Blair McIntosh's return at centre.

Tomorrow, Caithness face Glasgow Accies at Wick's Bignold Park (2pm). Hamilton and Fryer remain unavailable, while David Pottinger and William Mill's availability will hinge on farming commitments. Danny Gordon should rejoin the squad.

On Saturday, Accies edged out Highland by 25-20 at New Anniesland.

This article was posted on 15-Sep-2007, 08:24 by Hugh Barrow.