Highland head coach Davie Carson has been lifted by a triple selection boost ahead of their National 1 trip to title-hunting Ayr.
The hosts have only lost twice this season – against Highland on the first day of the season, then last week when they were edged out 22-21 by leaders Kelso.
Ayr’s eight successive victories after losing in Inverness is warning enough for Carson’s troops.
However, Highland will head south on a high following their own fine 21-12 comeback win at Watsonian, which keeps them tucked just outside the top four.
Carson hopes the confidence gained for last week’s result on the road will stand them in good stead going in against strong opponents in Ayr.
He said: “We beat Ayr (26-17) on the opening day at home. This is us starting round two of fixtures.
“Apart from losing to us, Ayr had not been beaten until they lost by just one point against leaders Kelso last week. They have been flying, going eight on the trot without defeat until then.
“We beat them down there last year, which we were delighted with and this will be tough trip. Getting a win away from home last week will give us confidence.
“Ayr are a good, strong side with a few players who have played at a good level.
“We travel with a few selection headaches, which I’m happy about. Lewis Sinclair is available for selection, Grant Jamieson comes into the pack and Andrew Findlater returns. This is one of the strongest teams we’ve had available for some time.”
Controlled rugby delights Carson
Carson was delighted to see his team keep their cool against Watsonian before blasting back for last weekend’s win.
He said: “We got off to a really slow start – 12-0 down after around 12 minutes – and we were fearing the worst for a minute or two, but the boys gathered themselves and scored a good try before half-time to make it 12-7.
“We had the wind behind us in the second half and totally controlled it, played some good controlled rugby and the two tries we got in the second half came from eight, nine, 10 phases. We were unlucky not to get a bonus point, but won’t complain about that.
Highland win on the road to take 4 points in todays contest against @WATSONIANFC .
🙌🙌🙌🙌
🦅🏉💚❤️ https://t.co/8ylPdLB6z3— Highland Rugby Club 🦅 (@HighlandRFC) November 26, 2022
“Gala have slipped up in the last couple of weeks and we have a game in hand, so we could be just a couple of points behind fourth place.
“There is still a lot of rugby to be played.
“I don’t know what’s happened to Gala – they were flying at the start of the season, but Melrose put 65 points past them on Saturday, which was incredible.”
Tribute to legend Doddie Weir
Meanwhile, like the wider rugby community as a whole, Carson felt the loss of legendary international player Doddie Weir, who died at the weekend.
The 52-year-old lost his incredible six-year battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), which led him to establish the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation (MNDF).
Carson said: “I actually only met Doddie once at the Black Isle Show. He was a great guy, within and outside of rugby.
“It was really sad news.
“When I saw him come out at the recent Scotland v All Blacks game, there had been a big change in the way he looked. It was a real shock to the system. It was horrible news.”
#RIPDoddie The big fellah will be sadly missed!
💔🙏 https://t.co/DFCqDNaXH4— Highland Rugby Club 🦅 (@HighlandRFC) November 26, 2022
Orkney approaching midway stage
In National 3, Orkney will be raising money in memory of Doddie Weir and in aid of MND research this weekend.
The weakened first-team side slipped to a sore 84-14 defeat against perfect starters and table-toppers Gordonians last weekend, which pushed them down to eighth in the division.
Tenth-placed Perthshire are the visitors on Saturday, who will be looking to respond to their 34-33 defeat against Murrayfield Wanderers.
📣WHAT’S ON at ORFC this Week?
Bruce Ruthven will be here taking coaching sessions at all age groups from Thursday – Sunday.
This weekend will be a celebration fundraiser in memory of Doddie Weir in aid of MND research, beginning with the Dragons v Shetland at 11:30 on Saturday pic.twitter.com/g5DMwbmVv4
— Orkney RFC (@OrkneyRFC) November 29, 2022
Head coach Derek Robb, who should have a full squad available, is encouraged by how his players are settling into life after winning promotion last season.
He said: “We have quite a group of youngsters coming through and they’re still learning, but overall we’re not in too bad a place, given we didn’t know what to expect (this term).
“This is the last game in the cycle. Perthshire are the last team we’ve to face in the first half of the season, so we have a realistic idea about what everyone is all about now. That might well assist going into the second half of the season.
“It would be fine if we could get another win under our belts against Perthshire. I’d be looking for us to get that and be fairly competitive this weekend.”
Weakened squad never gave up ghost
With several main players unavailable, Robb took heart from his team’s display against formidable Gordonians last week.
He added: “We managed to scrape together 17 players then one of the guys pulled up in the warm-up, so the only person on the bench was me.
“We had some good players, but no real experience for what we’re trying to do.
“However, we stuck in hard and got a couple of good tries in the second half when we had the wind. We also were on their line another three times, but Gordonians had too much depth.”
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