Stags Hold Out to Move into Semi Final

Grangemouth had a break from league rugby last Saturday as they made the short trip across the Clacks Bridge to take on Hillfoots in the quarter final of the Caledonia Shield. The Stags made several changes with McLay at fullback, Shannon at centre for the injured Denny, McNab back at wing forward and a first start of the season for Black in the front row. On a bright but chilly afternoon Grangemouth had the advantage of the slope and the wind in the first half. However it was the home side who dominated at the start of the half and after some early pressure they were rewarded with an unconverted score in the corner. The Stags hit back and Skelton narrowed the lead with a penalty a few minutes later. From the kick off Grangemouth were back on the attack. Dempsey had a dart down the blindside and when he was tackled he passed to Forsyth who dived over in the corner. Skelton landed the difficult conversion. Hillfoots hit back and regained the lead after 15 minutes. They worked a move at the front of an attacking lineout to take play close to the line. After a series of drives by the forwards the ball was moved wide where their centre cut inside his man to score under the posts. The conversion was on target. Hillfoots continued to dominate territory with the Stags trying to play rugby in their own half rather than use the conditions to clear their lines. On the half hour mark a Hillfoots attack broke down on the Grangemouth 22. This time the ball was kicked downfield and a good chase forced the home side back into their 22. A huge drive by the Stags scrum shunted the home pack backwards and they gave away a penalty. Skelton was again on target with the kick. A few minutes later it was Grangemouth who were turned over on halfway and a break by the Hillfoots centre resulted in another converted try under the posts. Just on half time a kick and chase resulted in Dempsey pulling up injured with Noble coming on as a replacement. HT Hillfoots 19 Stags 13.

At the start of the second half Allan had a good run up the touchline before being bundled into touch. Hillfoots were starting to dominate at the breakdown and a long kick downfield resulted in a lineout inside the Stags 22. The lineout was a mess and after some close range drives Hillfoots drove over for another unconverted score. Grangemouth made a series of changes to the pack with Polland, Sloan and Deacons all coming on. The Stags began to win more ball and on 60 minutes Grangemouth added try number 2. Gemmell made the initial break before feeding on to Forsyth. The ball was recycled for Skelton to skip round his man and score. The stand off converted his own try. Five minutes later and Grangemouth were back in the lead. This time Allan made the initial break before passing to Gemmell. The centre raced to the 22, drew the fullback and passed to McLay for a run in under the posts. Skelton maintained his 100% record with the simple kick. The final 10 minutes was a frantic affair with Hillfoots attacking and some desperate defence from the visitors. Hillfoots had some kickable penalties which would have tied the score but they went for the try to win the game. With 5 minutes to go the home side were penalised at a 5 metre scrum and after talking back to the referee their number 8 was given a yellow card. On the last play of the match Grangemouth won a scrum on their line and looked to drive clear. However the referee gave a penalty to Hillfoots for wheeling. The home side reset the scrum and drove towards the line. With a score or penalty try looking likely the referee decided Hillfoots had lost control and blew his whistle for an infringement and full time. FT Hillfoots 24 Stags 27.

A dramatic end to a topsy -turvy contest. Grangemouth failed to take advantage of the conditions in the first half as they tried to play far too much rugby in their own half rather than kick downfield for position. The lineout was better but the sccrum was under pressure in the closing stages. There was some fantastic defence in the closing minutes to prevent Hillfoots from sneaking the win. The Stags now progress to the semi final which will take place on 15 December. This Saturday Grangemouth are back in league action as they travel to face Alloa with KO 2pm.