Kinlochshiel full-back Finlay MacRae is the first player to answer our new quick-fire round of 10 questions about the sport of shinty.
The former Scotland shinty-hurling captain was player of the year in 2021, with the club making a real statement last autumn by winning the Camanachd and MacTavish Cups.
What is your earliest shinty memory?
I played in a small village I used to live in called Ratagan and, along with my brothers and a couple of friends, we’d play outside on the football field.
It would be murder, because the nets were football nets, if you hit a good shot or a wide shot it didn’t matter, the ball would go behind and, if it wasn’t a save, it could take about five minutes to get the ball back.
Who was senior debut against and what was the result?
I was 14 or 15 and it was at Kirkton. I made my debut the same day as my friend, Gordy MacDonald. He went on first and I went on after him.
It was against Lochaber, but we can’t remember the score. I’m told we were winning when we went on, but we ended up losing the match!
What is your best moment in shinty so far?
It would have to be winning the Camanachd Cup. It is something you aim for as a club. To play with your friends and achieve that was special.
But I’d also say winning my first senior medal, in the Macaulay Cup in 2016, meant a lot.
There were perhaps doubts within the club, and even with myself, that we’d ever get there. To win that first senior shinty medal (against Inveraray) really pushed us on.
And the worst?
There have been a few, but none more so than the 2018 MacTavish Cup final. We played Newtonmore and had a real chance of winning it.
Losing is always bad, but personally I felt it, because I scored an own goal and my man got the winning goal. That was a tough one to take. I still feel that to this day.
What is the worst injury you have suffered?
I have had my fair share of injuries and they have mainly been in the last few years. I broke my arm, which was a bad one, in 2019. I was out for a long time with that.
Last year, I wasn’t out for long, but I fractured a bone in my leg and it almost cost me my place in the Camanachd Cup final. It was actually in the semi-final, so it was a tense few weeks.
Having waited so long to play in the final, I thought I would miss out, but thankfully I made it – with a bit of sticky tape.
Who is the joker in the team?
It would have to be my brother, John. He’s a header…
What is your favourite away ground?
It would have to be Oban. Not only is it a brilliant surface to play on, we have won four of our five senior trophies there, so it’s our favourite or most lucky ground.
Who is the rival player you would have loved in your team and why?
There have been a lot of great players throughout the years, so this is a tricky one. The one that sticks out is Glen Mackintosh for Newtonmore.
Not only would it have saved me a few bruises over the years, he is someone you’d always want in your team going into a battle and he knew where the goals were. He could always stick the ball in the back of the net.
What is the favourite goal scored by you or a team-mate?
It has to be my brother Keith’s third goal in a hat-trick in the Camanachd Cup final. It was such a tense game.
There are so many great players who have not had the chance to play in a Camanachd Cup final, so when we got our chance, we just wanted to take it. I’ve played since I was 14 and I was 36 last year, so it was a long wait for my chance at it.
We were winning 2-1 and, within the last half an hour, we felt every single minute. It was always on a knife-edge and Lovat could have come back.
Keith scored late on to make it 3-1. That was the moment when we knew it had to be our day. There was sheer relief when that goal was scored – it was special.
Describe the sport in three words?
Tough, dedicated and rewarding.
These reasons are what puts shinty above other games. There is no money involved. Everyone volunteers within the sport, it’s their hobby.
You spent time away from your family and you don’t do that unless you care about it. The rewards are definitely worth it.
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