Shinty: Lovat and Beauly hoping to start 2026 in style with Lovat Cup success

As far as attendances are concerned, it’s right up there with several shinty cup finals as Lovat and Beauly contest the Lovat Cup at Balgate on Friday.

Local pride is at stake in the game’s most recognised New Year fixture and Lovat manager Iain Nicolson said: “I’m not a local man myself but the Lovat Cup means a lot to the players.

“I’ve tried to change their train of thought so their minds are focused on the game itself as sometimes the emotion and passion can take over.

“We’ve been training through December, and we are changing how we do a few things, so we’ll treat it as a taster for the new season.

“We might have a couple of players returning but we had a lot of injuries towards the end of last season and the main thing for us is that our injured players are fully fit and available again.

“Martin Mainland, Lewis Tawse, and Marc MacLachlan have all been out with broken hands whilst Angus Mearns had a broken foot, and Greg Matheson was nursing injuries all last season.

“They are five big players for us, and it will be great to have them back, but they will have to be ready as they will only play against Beauly if they are fully fit as the most important thing is that they are ready for the start of the season.”

Both sides will play in the Mowi National Division next season following their relegation from the top-flight.

Iain Nicolson added: “This will be a rebuild season for us as we mix the younger players in with the older ones.

“We’ll get the ‘favourites’ tag but I’m not so confident and it’s the unknown that concerns me in that league.

“You only have to look at Bute and you might have expected them to be at the lower end of the table last season, but they just missed out on promotion.

“We’ll also have local derbies against Beauly and Glenurquhart so it will be a very interesting league.

“We are looking to raise the standards all around the club. Deb Bradley comes in as trainer. Deb has been well known in the Highland Games circuit for years and he will focus solely on the fitness side of things.

“If the boys can work hard during preseason and do what we want them to do, then there’s no reason why we can’t have a successful season.”

Switch to Braeview Park may be an option

Beauly were last Lovat Cup winners in 2015 before Lovat went on a five-game winning spree.

The 2021 and 2022 events were both Covid postponements whilst the weather put paid to the clash a year later. Lovat retained the trophy following 1-1 draws in both 2024 and 2025 but only as holders.

This will be a first game in charge for Beauly’s new management team of Jamie MacLennan and Steven MacKenzie.

Steven MacKenzie said: “We’ve been training well and it’s a game that’s really important to both communities and to shinty in general.

“Don’t get me wrong, if we had the option of winning the league or the Lovat Cup, we’d take the league but the Lovat Cup’s still one of the great occasions and there’s no doubt the guys will compete with pride and passion in front of a fantastic crowd.

“I don’t think there will be any surprises in our line-up, and we’ll have Euan Mccormick back fit again as he’s recovered from a broken hand. We’re delighted about that as Euan’s a great player and a lovely lad.

“We’ll try and get our noses in front in the game, and we’ll see where that takes us.

“The weather forecast of snow is a bit of a worry, and whilst Lovat will do all they can to host the match, we’ll have Braeview Park available as a contingency.”

[Source: Press and Journal]