Ross Stags looking to get back up to speed after 'rusty' defeat
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The Invergordon side went down 47-19 at Canal Park as Highland ran riot to win the game by seven tries to three.
It was the first game Ross Sutherland had played in over two months and Mann said the lack of match fitness showed in the end.
"It was a rusty performance, but when you haven’t played a game in 10 weeks that is to be expected," he said.
"Highland 2nd’s have had half a season to play on their plastic pitch, so they were more used to the surface than we were.
"We did manage to score three tries and I think it’s fair to say that we won the physical battle at the scrum.
"But what undid us was Highland’s pace on the wing. They had some fast young players who took advantage and our older, more experienced guys were not able to keep up with them.
"We suffered from a flu epidemic which affected a number of our players. We brought a few older boys in but they just couldn’t match the pace of Highland’s backs."
Highland raced into a 14-point lead within the opening 10 minutes and a further Highland try followed before Stuart McPherson for the Stags rounded off a series of pick-and-go moves to score at the foot of the posts on 25 minutes.
John Mann converted and seven minutes later completed another good Ross move to bag a try of his own. His conversion attempt bounced back off the post, but the score had taken him past the milestone of 100 points for the season so far. Ross Sutherland had weathered the storm and were gaining the upper hand.
But a yellow card for Ciaran Docherty just before the end of the half proved costly and Highland scored again to close the first period 28-12 ahead. That lead was further increased within a minute of the second half starting when Highland raced through a gap in the defence to score.
Two further Highland scores sandwiched a fine forwards try for John Gordon, who crossed for the visitors on 65 minutes. It was a just reward for the real impact he had been making since coming on as a replacement. Mann converted for the final Ross points.
Ross Sutherland hope to get back to winning ways when they welcome Stornoway to Invergordon tomorrow.
The Western Isles outfit have lost every game this season and failed to register a point in the league.
Mann said tomorrow’s encounter was a must win game for the Stags, where they are looking for a bonus point victory
"We won at Stornoway by four tries to one earlier this season," he said. "They have not won a game this season and I think we will be able to throw the ball around a lot more. We need the five points this week, so we will be going gung-ho for tries and not taking penalty options.
"We are sitting seventh and we would like to get into the top four, but anywhere between third and sixth would be a good result for us."
