Stags reach Caley Bowl Final

The Stags were finally back in action last Saturday after two successive cancelled fixtures. The students from St Andrews made the trip to Glensburgh for the semi final match of the Caledonia Bowl. Grangemouth had narrowly won the previous league fixture between the sides but with the two teams neck and neck in the league this was always going to be a close contest. The weather played its part and the game only took place after a huge effort by the club to clear water and snow from the park on Friday and Saturday. The Stags started well and were quickly on the attack after Parsons had set up good position inside the visitors 22. However the ball was knocked on and the students were able to clear. Grangemouth continued to press and Sangster made a break before handing on to Mncube and Neill but again the ball was knocked on and St Andrews broke upfield. St Andrews continued to profit from the home sides mistakes in the difficult conditions and the first quarter remained scoreless. The opening score came after 25 minutes. Good tackling by Dempsey halted a St Andrews attack inside their own half and when they tried to continue the move Sangster anticipated well to intercept the pass and run in from 35 metres. McInally added the conversion. St Andrews hit back immediately and good hands in the backs gave their full back enough space to use his pace to beat the cover defence for a converted try. Grangemouth finished the half on top but were unable to convert possession and territory into points. Half time 7 -7.

Grangemouth started the second half on the attack again and this time were rewarded with a penalty after the students were caught handling at the breakdown. McInally again was on target with his kick. St Andrews dominated the next period and pinned the Stags back in their half but solid defence kept the home line intact. Dalgleish was given a yellow card for an off the ball incident but St Andrews were unable to take advantage of the extra man. With the game entering the last 10 minutes Grangemouth were able to relieve the pressure with some good forward drives and sensible kicking to the corners by Sangster. Finally with 2 minutes to go McInally kicked another penalty to extend the lead and close out the game. Final score Stags 13 St Andrews 7

This was a hard fought victory for the Stags in difficult conditions. All the players deserve praise for their efforts with Stirling, Neill and Dempsey showing up well in defensive duties and skipper McInally kicking the points to secure the victory. Grangemouth will now face the long journey north to play RAF Lossiemouth in the bowl final on January 28th. A huge thanks to all the club members who turned up on Friday to help pump water from the park and again on Saturday to clear the snow from the pitch. The club would also like to thank Alex McQuade and Falkirk RFC for having one of their pitches on standby if Glensburgh was unplayable. The Stags are now into hibernation over Xmas with no fixtures until 14 January