Stags Win Alban Jenkins Shield

The Stags took a break from league action last weekend as they welcomed old rivals Llandybie to Glensburgh for their biannual visit to Scotland . This is now the 58th year of the game making it the longest running fixture between Scottish and Welsh club sides. The Stags picked a fairly strong side with James Rutherford starting at stand off while Scott and Gibson were in the back row. Grangemouth started well against the big Welsh pack and dominated the early possession. The opening score came on 9 minutes. Binnie made the initial charge before linking with Curran who found Parsons in support to allow the veteran full back to run in under the posts. Innes slotted the easy conversion. Straight from the kick off the home side added try number 2. The forwards reclaimed the kick and when the ball was moved along the backs Innes gave winger Allan enough space to escape down the touchline. He kicked ahead and outpaced the defence to score in the corner. This time Innes was unsuccessful with the kick. The visitors began to find their feet and used their forwards to good effect as they gained more possession and territory. After a spell of pressure midway through the half they scored after running a tap penalty deep in the Stags 22 for a converted score. The home side dominated the closing 10 minutes of the half and added 2 further scores. First after a series of tap penalties Innes made the break before slipping the ball to Gibson for the score. Innes added the extra 2 points. Then Herron had a kick and chase but was tackled without the ball close to the Llandybie line. However from the resulting penalty the ball was moved to the blindside and this time Herron was not to be denied as he crashed over in the corner for an unconverted score. HT Stags 24 Llandybie 7.

The Stags started the second half strongly but were denied by some poor execution and some blatant Welsh cheating. As tempers flared the referee warned both sides. Llandybie then had a spell of pressure of their own but the home defence held firm. Midway through the half from a visitors scrum 5 metres from the Stags line the forwards won the ball against the head. The ball was moved to Innes who beat the initial cover and raced to halfway before passing to the supporting Rutherford to run in unopposed for the try. Innes kicked the conversion and the referee and the visitors decided enough was enough and ended the game. FT Stags 31 Llandybie 7

This was a good workout for the Stags ahead of their important league matches in the next few weeks. After the game the Alban Jenkins Shield was presented to Stags captain James Denny while the man of the match tankard was awarded to the visitors second row Daniel Wigley. The Welsh then claimed the boat race and Paul Rutherford fell over! A big thanks to all the players and to the supporters who helped out on the day. A special mention to the staff at the Auld Toll who helped out with the catering at the last minute. This week the Stags are back in league action as they travel to take on Carnoustie while the seconds are at home to Perthshire. Both games are 3pm KO