Stags Retain Albyn Jenkins Shield

The Welsh were in town last weekend as old rivals Llandybie made the long trip north to contest the Alban Jenkins Shield. With important league and cup games in the next few week the Stags decided to rest most of the 1st XV squad but still were able to field a fairly strong side. On a bitterly cold day it was the visitors who had the advantage of the strong wind in the first half and were soon on the attack. They missed an early penalty attempt as Grangemouth struggled to clear their lines. On 15 minutes however Cunningham and Allan combined to allow the latter to make a 40 metre break but the ball was knocked on and the break came to nothing. As the game entered the second quarter the visitors finally opened the scoring. Grangemouth knocked on inside their 22 and after a couple of phases the Llandybie centre broke through a couple of tackles to score under the posts. The kick was successful. As the half progressed the Grangemouth forwards began to dominate possession and put some pressure on the Welsh line. With 5 minutes left in the half good runs by Williamson and Randalls took play deep into the visitors 22. Quick recycling of the ball saw veteran Ronnie Innes slip the ball to young Tom Chapman who crashed over for the score. The kick was unsuccessful to leave the half time score Stags 5 Llandybie7.

With the wind at their backs Grangemouth dominated the second half as the Welsh ran out of steam. Another Williamson burst and a Chapman kick saw Randalls follow up to pin the Welsh deep inside their 22. From the scrum McNiff picked up and despite the hint of a knock on young Cammy Hendry collected the ball to score near the posts. Chapman was on target with the conversion. Straight from the kick off Matt Howe raced 40 metres up the touchline before passing inside to Allan who scored under the posts. Again Chapman added the conversion. Ten minutes later Allan added his second try after breaking some weak tackling to score near the posts. This time Innes added the conversion. The Welsh accepted defeat and the game was brought to an early conclusion. Stags 26 Llandybie 7

This was a good performance by the Grangemouth side to win the Shield for the 3rd year in a row. There were good performances from Hind and McNiff in the forwards while in the backs the veteran Innes and youngster Chapman combined to control the game in the second half. Next week the Stags return to league action as Fife Southern make the short trip from Rosyth for a 3pm KO. The Stags also have a home tie in the semi final of the National Bowl on 30 March when Kinloss Eagles will make the long trip south.