After the disappointment of the defeat to Strathmore in the league and cup double header the previous week it was back to league business as the Stags travelled to St Andrews to take on Madras. Injuries and unavailability saw youngsters Mundy and Brown start in the front 5 and there were also rare starts for veterans Bell and Campbell. Madras welcomed back several players as they fought to avoid relegation. In the opening stages Madras were on top as they used their big forwards to make several breaks as the Stags fell off first time tackles. The scoreline remained blank as Madras were unable to convert their pressure into points. However after 18 minutes another break in the centre saw the ball spread to the right and as the ball went loose the home wing forward dived over for an unconverted try. Madras continued to dominate and almost scored again but were denied by a foot in touch. However from the lineout the clearance kick was returned by the home fullback who was held up just short of the line. The ball was moved to the left for an easy score under the posts. Finally after 30 minutes Grangemouth mounted an attack of their own. Skipper began a counter attack and Allan was bundled into touch 5 metres out. From the lineout Brown gathered the loose ball but was unable to cross the line. Soon after Madras were penalised for holding on in the tackle and Skipper kicked the penalty. With half time approaching Grangemouth turned the ball over and the home stand off kicked ahead but was denied as the ball ran into touch. Half time 12 - 3

The second half continued with Madras on top as Grangemouth continued to struggle at the set pieces.The Stags held out for 10 minutes but Madras kicked an easy penalty when they were caught offside. As the game entered the last quarter Madras finally made all their pressure and possession count and scored 4 trys in 10 minutes. Firstly the Stags turned over ball again and ran the ball back for a converted score. They secured the bonus point score with a quickly taken penalty which Grangemouth failed to defend. The 5th try saw Madras turn the ball over inside their 22 and ran the ball the length of the park for another converted try. The home side scored their final try as they returned an attempted clearing kick and scored in the corner as the referee missed an obvious knock on. With the last play of the game Grangemouth finally scored a try as Cuthbertson crossed and Skipper converted. Final score 41 - 10

This was a very poor performance by the Stags who were completely outplayed up front and missed too many tackles in the backs. The next 2 weeks are very important with home games against Aberdeen and Stirling Universities and an away game aginst Kinross. Next games Aberdeen Uni Sat 10 April at home KO 3pm and Kinross away on Tuesday 13 April KO 7.30pm.