Stags Retain Alban Jenkins Shield

The Stags headed to Wales last weekend to face old rivals Llandybie as they celebrated the 67th year of the longest running club fixture between Scottish and Welsh clubs. The side contained the usual mix of players from the club with an age range of 20 to 60 along with 3 guest players from County and Cardiff Saracens. The pitch was heavy after all the rain and steady drizzle made handling difficult. Grangemouth made a great start winning a couple of penalties and kicking into the corner. From the lineout Luke Quinn secured the ball and the pack drove over with Harvey collecting the touchdown. Worthington slotted the tricky conversion. The home side tried to hit back but the tourists showed some great defence to keep their lead for the rest of the first quarter. However on 22 minutes Llandybie were rewarded with a slightly fortunate score. A sliced clearance kick by the Stags bounced kindly for the home winger who was able to squeeze in at the corner. The excellent conversion from near the touchline levelled the scores. Grangemouth were soon back on the attack and restored the lead on 28 minutes. Quinn won a lineout 15 metres from the line and the pack again drove to the line with skipper White awarded the score. The conversion was unsuccessful. Llandybie had a couple of penalty attempts before the break but both were wide of the mark. HT Llandybie 7 Stags 12.

The 3rd quarter was dominated by the home side. They were unlucky not to score after a kick ahead just ran dead with the cover defence beaten. Then a fine break by home fullback Williams almost produced a score for his winger but Crossan somehow managed to cover the ground and tackle the player into touch. Finally the Stags defence was broken after a series of close range drives resulted in a try. Fortunately the conversion was missed. In a tense final 15 minutes the Stags missed a penalty and a drop kick attempt was wide before the welcome relief of the final whistle meant that for the second time in a row on Welsh soil the match ended in a draw and the Stags retained the Alban Jenkins Shield. FT Llandybie 12 Stags 12.

This was another hard fought encounter between the sides and a draw was probably a fair result. Skipper White was awarded the man of the match tankard but all of the players put in a huge shift to ensure the shield returned to Scotland. A great effort by all involved but a special mention for youngster Steve White making his club debut and for club legends Crossan and Innes for agreeing to play. A huge thanks to the guest players, Worthington, Penny and Gibson for once again helping us out on the day. There are no games this weekend.

The next fixtures are on 17 February when the 1s travel to face RAF Lossiemouth in the National Shield with the 2s also on the road as they face Crieff in a rearranged league match.