Stags Bowled Out

With the league programme completed attention switched to the semi final of the National Bowl last Saturday with Helensburgh the visitors to Glensburgh. Both sides had finished with a record of 17 wins and 1 defeat in their respective leagues and an open game of rugby was expected. The Stags restored most of their regulars for the game. However they were missing number 8 Stevie Neill and were dealt a late blow when Sangster was forced to call off - though congratulations on the birth of his daughter. Helensburgh started strongly and were quickly on the attack to open the scoring after just 4 minutes. The backs handled well and then a kick through was followed up by the right winger who dived on the ball for an unconverted try. Grangemouth hit back and McInally was unsuccessful with a penalty a few minutes later. The visitors continued to dominate territory as Grangemouth struggled to deal with box kicks and to clear their lines. After 20 minutes Helensburgh increased their lead with a penalty after a spell of pressure inside the Stags 22. Ten minutes later Helensburgh added try number two. Again the Stags defence failed to deal with a high kick and the loose ball was hacked on for the winger to win the race for the score. The conversion was successful. Just on half time the Stags won a scrum against the head and Denny had a run to the 22 before being tackled into touch. Half time 0 – 15

The Stags turned to the bench at the start of the second half but Helensburgh continued to dominate. They missed a kick at goal before adding another try when the forwards drove close to the line before the ball was moved wider for a converted score under the posts. From the kick off Grangemouth finally made some headway into the opposition 22. Stangoe and McInally made the initial runs and recycled ball saw Jamieson rumble over for the try. McInally pulled the conversion wide. Grangemouth were having their best spell of the game and were back on the attack with Dempsey and Parsons taking play deep into the visitors territory. McPherson had a run from a scrum 5 but the defence held firm and the ball was cleared. With the game entering the closing 10 minutes Helensburgh added two more scores. Firstly from a lineout close to the line the initial forward drives were held up short before the scrum half sniped round the blind side of the ruck for a try. With the last kick of the game the visitors stand off kicked a drop goal to seal the victory. Final score 5 – 30.

And so Helensburgh march on to the final at Murrayfield on 21st April and will play Dunbar. They were the much better side on the day as they dominated territory, kicked well and defended strongly throughout. The Stags struggled to get into the game and played much of the game in the wrong areas of the park. The lineout was poor and they failed to deal with a number of high kicks. So a disappointing end to the season with two defeats in the last 3 games. However overall this has been a very positive season for the local side with a record of 22 wins from 24 games played. The playing and training numbers have been excellent all season and this should give the club a good base to build on for next season. There are no more games for the 1st XV this season but there are a number of 7s tournaments coming up and the 2nds and under 18s still have a couple of games to go. Check the website for further details.