Welcoming some of the biggest names in club rugby to Inverness is a motivation for Highland players to raise their levels in National Division One.
That’s the opinion of head coach Davie Carson as they prepare to lock horns with high-flying Gala tomorrow, with ladies’ day boosting the numbers and mood around the club.
There’s a clean bill of health too after a positive Covid case wiped out all senior matches for Highland last weekend, including the first-team’s league trip to Biggar.
🦅🏉💚♥️ Ladies Day UPDATE!
📆 Sat 6th Nov is Ladies Day at Highland Rugby Club!!
⏰ We ask that all ticket holders arrive at 12:00 for a 12:30 start, there's a 2 course lunch with wine, Prosecco, fun & games.
👉 https://t.co/M6KfWqLa4N or follow on social media for updates. pic.twitter.com/ruw1KidD8n— Highland Rugby Club 🦅 (@HighlandRFC) November 3, 2021
Carson has guided the Canal Park outfit out of the Caledonia Leagues and they are more than holding their own on the national stage.
Physical and mental challenges
While taking a great sense of pride at his players taking on high-level opponents on a weekly basis, Carson stressed the need to be switched on in every game, in every sense.
As they aim to bounce back from a 24-20 loss at Cartha Queen’s Park a fortnight ago, he said: “It’s yet another big one for us. Gala are right up there at the top, having lost only one game.
“It’s massive for us and a few of our players need to step it up again as they did against Melrose.
“We talked to them before the Cartha match about how difficult it would be down there. They only got beat by Melrose in the last eight minutes and we beat Melrose by six points. No game is easy at this level, especially away from home.
“You have a slight advantage at home, but you have to be on the ball every week. No disrespect, but we’re not playing at Caley One or Division Three.
“We are up against some fantastic rugby players and you have to be on your game, physically and mentally, and mentally more importantly.”
Big name visits great for the town
While the Inverness team are targeting promotion, there is also an appreciation of how far they have come to reach this level, taking on top opponents.
That’s far from lost on Carson, who added: “This year already we’ve had Heriots and Melrose up here and Ayr, who were champions of the Premiership before the Super Six and now we have Gala coming up, who are a legendary Borders club. It’s massive and great for the town.
“You can tell that by the crowds we’re getting. The place is packed every week. It’s ladies’ day this weekend, so they will be down at the club. I’m told it sold out in 20 minutes. It shows the amount of people wanting to be part of it.”
Keeping on top of Covid testing
Highland’s fixture away to Biggar from last week has been rescheduled for February 12 and Carson explained how the club are right on the ball when it comes to testing for the virus.
He said: “We had a positive lateral flow Covid case on Wednesday, so we went through the protocols and they never came back until Friday night, so we had to pull the game.
“It was going to happen at some point in the season. Gala v Cartha Queens Park was off for the same reason. Luckily, everyone is fine and healthy again and we had full training on Tuesday, so it’s all good.
📢 CLUB ANNOUNCEMENT:
All Senior Mens Rugby fixtures scheduled for this weekend 30th October have been postponed.
The affected fixtures are:@BiggarRFC v Highland RFC
Highland RFC 2nd XV v @rsrfc
Highland RFC 3rd XV v @dyce_rfc pic.twitter.com/Qf1pdbFmbx— Highland Rugby Club 🦅 (@HighlandRFC) October 28, 2021
“You hear all the time about people getting Covid. The boys have been fantastic. They test before training on Tuesday and Thursday and on Friday night or Saturday morning before a game.”
Hugo Crush remains out of action, but he has returned to training, while Rory Cross is unavailable. Mike Gordon rejoins the squad after his quad tear.
