This weekend sees the first Badenoch Derby of the season as Kingussie make the short trip to Newtonmore. We caught up with Kingussie Forward Ruaridh Anderson ahead of this great match.

Ruaridh – huge match this weekend as you take on local rivals Newtonmore – you obviously had the better of them last season, do you expect that to continue?

We would certainly like it to continue. They’ve made a strong unbeaten start to the season so we know we’ll have to be at the top of our game to get a result. As it stands we’ll just focus on the one game at hand and see where that takes us. 

What do you make of this Newtonmore side, where are their strengths and how could they hurt Kingussie?

They’re definitely capable of hurting us, like they have all teams they’ve played so far. Obviously their internationalists are stand outs within their quality side, but a team like Newtonmore always have an abundance of top players throughout the squad. As a team they’ve shown a strong record when going forward; mixed with their solid defence is enough to cause any team problems. 

2-1 against Shiel last week – was that some redemption for the cottages.com MacTavish Cup Final?

I wouldn’t really say so, we’ve put that game behind us having hopefully learnt some important lessons from it to take into the new season. 

Your goal was beautifully hit, did you know as soon as you made contact where it was going?

In all honesty when the opportunity to shoot presents itself I’m just happy to hit the target so was delighted to see that one hit the back of the net. 

How does it feel to be officially (totally unofficially) the 2^nd best player in shinty – are you happy with your placing or annoyed about not being number 1?

I appreciate your kind words on the pod Aaron, however, I’d have to disagree with my placing anywhere near the top 12. I would much prefer to be part of a top team, which we’re aiming for at Kingussie.