Stags Relinquish Alban Jenkins Shield

A tour party of 40 from the club made the long journey to Wales last weekend to take on old rivals Llandybie on the eve of the international match. This was the 57th year of the fixture making it the longest running fixture between Scottish and Welsh clubs. Once again the side had the typical mix of 1sts, 2nds, occasional players and a few dragged out of retirement with the age range this time between 18 and 56. The opening exchanges were fairly even but on 5 minutes a poor touch kick saw the home side on the attack. The ball was moved out to their centre who crashed through the initial tackles before racing in at the corner for the opening score. Grangemouth hit back and an Innes (Jnr) kick took play up to the home 22 where Clyne followed up to tackle the full back. However the home side managed to recycle the ball and clear their lines. Midway through the half Llandybie struck twice in the space of a couple of minutes. Firstly a loose tap back from a lineout by the Stags on their 22 saw the home hooker pounce on the loose ball and run in at the corner to double the lead. Then the restart went straight into touch and from the resulting scrum in midfield the home backs worked space for their centre to run in from 50 metres for a third unconverted score. The Stags dominated the closing 15 minutes of the half. The forwards drove a lineout 20 metres up to the Llandybie 22. The ball was moved through several phases but the home defence held firm. Innes (Jnr) then tried a speculative kick to the corner where the ball evaded the home cover with Aitken following up to grab the score. The team and supporters were astounded as Denny landed a majestic conversion from the touchline. Grangemouth were unable to add to the scoring before half time leaving 5the score 15 – 7.

The first score of the second half was always going to be crucial and Grangemouth again exerted the initial pressure. However the home centre again showed his power as he broke out from his 22 to race 75 metres up field. Although he was finally caught just short of the line he managed to pass to his support for a converted score. Once again the Stags hit back and had a period of sustained pressure on the Welsh line. Norvall and McFarlane (Snr) were held just short and as the home side conceded several penalties the referee finally lost patience and awarded the visitors a penalty try. Denny again slotted the kick. The Stags were unable to close the gap and with 20 minutes to go the home side again increased their lead with a well worked converted try. Not to be outdone Grangemouth hit back with the try of the match. From a scrum on halfway veteran fullback Sonny Campbell burst through on the blindside before passing to Innes (Jnr) He drew in the fullback before slipping the pass to Allan who used his pace to beat the cover and score in the corner. This proved to be the final score of the game as the home side held out to win 29 -19.

So Llandybie regain the Alban Jenkins Shield after a very enjoyable and competitive encounter. For the Stags it was great to see the likes of Campbell, Balmer, Brazier and Norvall back in action but all the players deserve credit for their performance. Man of the match was awarded to Innes (Jnr) which means that he and his dad now have their names on the tankard. Next week the Stags play their final league match of the season as Panmure visit Glensburgh for a 3pm KO.