Highland are planning for the future

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HIGHLAND coach Hugh Mackintosh refused to be downbeat after the Inverness-based club lost its fourth consecutive National League Division 2 game away at Hawick YM.

The Borders side claimed an 18-3 victory on home turf but Mackintosh was pleased with the performance of his younger players regardless of the defeat.

Full back Craig Irvine kicked a penalty for Highland in the first half but they were left to rue missed opportunities as Hawick YM scored two tries before half-time.

Mackintosh said: “We played really well, it was one of our better performances.

“There were a lot of positives to take out of it but we have had a bad November. We have to put it behind us and look for a good December. We had two shocking games against Cambuslang and Waysiders-Drumpellier but since then we have played well in spells. There has been a lot more promise in the last two weeks.”

Mackintosh is willing to give the club’s emerging talent more playing time in the first 15 before the league campaign ends.

He added: “We were a bit unlucky as we made a bad mistake just before half-time when we conceded a try which took the score to 13-3.

“Considering the amount of pressure we had we need to score more tries.

“We had a very young team out at Hawick and it is one that we will probably work on a lot more.

“Our problem was that we had a new set of players in the backs in different positions and it took them time to settle.

“We had five players aged 18 or under in the team and it is a rebuilding exercise for next season now.”

After two home wins Caithness lost on the road, falling to a narrow 22-17 defeat against Preston Lodge in East Lothian.