Ross Sutherland coach Murray Kennedy believes match against Stornoway in Invergordon could be pivotal for rugby club's season
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Ross Sutherland Rugby Club coach Murray Kennedy believes this weekend’s match against Stornoway could be pivotal for their chances of success this season.
The Stags sit at the top of the Caledonia North Two Highlands and Islands Conference on points difference from Kinloss Eagles, with those two sides setting the pace since the opening day of the season.
However, Kinloss recently lost their first match in a long time against Stornoway, who are the next visitors to Invergordon tomorrow afternoon.
Win, and Ross Sutherland will remain in the driving seat for an end-of-season play-off spot. Lose, and it becomes a genuine three-horse race for the two cracks at potential promotion.
“It feels like we are on to something, but this game on Saturday is really big for us,” Kennedy said.
“This, I think, is a real pivot point for our season.
“It will show where we’re at. We keep getting these tests along the way, and Saturday is definitely going to be one of our bigger ones, so we’re buzzing for it.
“We’re contenders in there, and obviously Kinloss have a really good team too. I would say they’re still favourites ahead of us at the moment, but we’re building something as well.
“Our results reflect that. I still feel we’ve got another couple of levels in us to go yet, so this game is a pretty important one.”
Ross Sutherland have been particularly prolific at their Naval Grounds home, but one of their top points scorers – Andy Johnston – will miss the game due to work commitments.
Kennedy will hope that his absence is not definitive in what could be a close affair, adding: “Stornoway are a good scrummaging team, and their set-pieces are good as well, so I’m expecting it to be a bit stuffy.
“I’m not expecting it to be a big score – it was pretty tight over there, so I think it will be the same over here.”
