Women's 1st XV - Caithness
A bitterly cold Saturday 15th of February saw Oban Lorn Ladies travel to Thurso to take on the Caithness Krakens in the second game of Oban’s national shield campaign. With a 19 strong traveling side the ladies took to the field with heavy legs from the journey. Oban set to receive took the ball from the kick off and hit the ground running. With a lightning quick pace Oban struggled to keep formation and composure leading to early problems and disruption. Poppy McKillop and Rachel MacDonald linking well applied pressure to the Krakens looking for gaps. Some big carries from Caitlin Fowler and Lindsay MacMillan pushed the Krakens back into their own half. But some poor handling saw the Krakens regain possession and look dangerous on the ball. A good tackle from Drew Buckley sent the ball out allowing Jordan MacIntyre to shine in the line out. Handling errors crept in again and allowed the Krakens 15 to show her skill and plant the ball firmly under the posts.
A wake-up call for the Oban side and not to be left on the back foot the girls settled in to their rhythm and a quick sequence of off loads saw Oban gain a lot of ground rapidly. Through heavy hits and good communication Oban found themselves on the 5-meter line for Julie Campbell to add Oban’s first points to the score line. Caithness upped the tempo and used their strength wisely working hard to add more points to the score line. Not to be outdone Poppy McKillop found her stride and a gap just big enough to score in the corner leaving the score line at 14-10 at half time. From the re-start Oban lost their pace. A few injuries started to creep in as crucial players were taken off and others were playing out of position. The Krakens took advantage and ran in 2 tries whilst Oban struggled.
A strong Oban forward pack took the reins and started hammering into the Krakens defensive line. Edging closer and closer some interesting footwork from Julie Campbell saw her cross the line for the second time. From the restart there was messy play from both sides as the wind picked up and the handling errors crept in. Seizing her opportunity Anna Bain dove across the line to leave her mark on the score line at 29-20. With some returning talent in the form of Lucy Stewart and fresh leg from Mull’s Sophie Ralston Oban pushed hard to make up the extra points. Sadly, the clock was against them and the score line remained the same as the final whistle blew. Oban’s forward of the match on the day was Caitlin Fowler, with back of the match going to Ellie MacInnes. Caithness Krakens awarder their player of the match to Julie Campbell.
