Highland head coach Davie Carson is wary of a resurgent Watsonian side in Saturday’s National 1 encounter.
Although they are only two points above bottom spot, Watsonian recorded just their second victory of the campaign with a resounding 35-19 triumph over Cartha Queen’s Park.
Highland ran out convincing 40-10 winners when they last faced the Edinburgh side at Canal Park in October.
With his side fresh from a 24-16 win at Dundee, Carson is urging another strong performance when his side makes the trip to the capital.
Carson said: “It will be exactly the same as it was against Dundee. They are down there as they have lost games, but it has not been by much.
“They had a good win at home last week against Cartha, who are no slouches as we found out ourselves.
“Watsonian have improved as the season has gone on, and their tails will be wagging after a good result. They will be looking to make it two in a row, so it will not be easy.
“If you don’t go in with the right attitude, you are only showing 80% commitment and not fighting for the full 80 minutes, you don’t get a result away from home.
“We will be emphasising that to the boys. Hopefully the same result can come in the end.”
Carson was thrilled to start 2022 with a five-point haul against Dundee last weekend.
Dundee miss the pen. Benn Morris clears to touch.
And it’s full time.@DundeeRugbyClub 16-24 @HighlandRFC pic.twitter.com/NGWmxe4hzh— Highland Rugby Club 🦅 (@HighlandRFC) January 15, 2022
The result keeps Highland in fifth place, eight points adrift of league leaders Heriot’s Blues.
Carson is eager to keep up the challenge in the remaining eight games.
He added: “We needed to get off to a good start against Dundee. It was as tough as we thought it would be.
“We played some good stuff, and some really rusty stuff, which we would expect after a four or five-week break.
“We will work on that to try and get things a bit slicker than they were. It was a good start, and five points away from home is always good in this league.
“It was only with three minutes to go we got the final try to get the bonus point, which the boys really pushed on for.
“Hopefully we can do the same again in these next two weeks to stay within this fighting group.”
Enforced change to Highland front row
Carson will be forced to make changes, with Stephen Murray and Rory Cross both unavailable.
The Highland head coach added: “Young Patrick Ratumaisese and Jonny Milton did a really good job assisting in the front row. They looked really fresh, so we will probably start with those two.
“We will bring someone in on the bench to give them a wee break during the game.”
