Stags Pull an Ace with Shield Win

Grangemouth made the short journey across the Forth last Saturday as they travelled to play Dunfermline in the 1st round of the Caledonia Shield. The Stags made 4 changes from the previous week with Shannon at fullback, McNiff coming in at flanker and Black and Moreno as the starting props. On another fine day for rugby it was the home side who started strongly as they dominated the early possession. They used their big forwards to drive close to the breakdown to tie in the Stags defence. It was therefore no surprise when they opened the scoring after 5 minutes. The forwards had a series of drives to take play deep into the Grangemouth 22 before the ball was switched back to the blindside for the opening score. The conversion was on target. Five minutes later Dunfermline doubled their lead. The home forwards won a lineout 10 metres from the Stags line and drove over for a second converted score. Dunfermline continued to press but were denied by a combination of scrambling defence from the Stags and some poor options by the home side. As the game entered the second quarter Grangemouth started to see more of the ball and Allan had a couple of good runs but was bundled into touch. With 5 minutes to go in the half Grangemouth finally opened their account. The Stags pack won a lineout just outside the Dunfermline 22 and McNiff drove forward. The ball was moved to the backs for Denny to hit up in centrefield. Quick recycling allowed the backs to move the ball wide to Allan and this time the winger had enough space to beat the cover and score near the corner. Skelton was wide with the conversion. HT Dunfermline 14 Stags 5.

Grangemouth started the second half well. Allan had a good run to take play up to the Dunfermline 22. However the Stags were unable to open up the home defence and Skelton was wide with a penalty attempt. Having survived the early pressure at the start of the half Dunfermline worked their way upfield and increased their lead on 60 minutes. The forwards were held up over the line before from the resulting scrum the back row worked a blindside move to score. The conversion was successful.The Stags responded well and during their next attack one of the home props was given a yellow card for a high tackle on Denny. Grangemouth kicked to the corner and from the lineout the pack drove over the line with Hind collecting the touchdown. Skelton added the extras. A few minutes later the Stags were back on the attack and Jamieson looked to have scored as he drove over the line. The referee indicated the ball was held up and awarded a 5 metre scrum. The pack shunted Dunfermline back and Hind was able to control the ball at the back of the scrum to collect his second try. Skelton was again on target to reduce the lead to just 2 points. Dunfermline were then restored to 15 players and with 5 minutes to play increased their lead with a penalty. In a dramatic finish Dunfermline looked to have held on for the victory as they turned over the ball in midfield. However they failed to kick the ball into touch and Grangemouth launched a counter attack from their own 22. Dunfermline gave away a couple of penalties as the Stags took play to the home 22. Skelton, Gemmell and Denny all had attempts to score before finally Hind was on hand to score his third try and tie the scores. With extra time looming Skelton was wide with his first attempt. However he was given a second chance as the home players had charged the kick early and this time the ball sailed between the uprights to give the Stags a remarkable victory. FT Dunfermline 24 Stags 26.

Dunfermline must be wondering how they managed to lose this game. They dominated the early stages and should really have scored more points. Credit to the Grangemouth players for their scrambling defence in the first half and their strong running and support play in the second half. This week the Stags are back in league action as they travel to Alloa with KO 3pm.