Stags crash to Stirling Uni

After the easy win over Aberdeen University last week the Stags welcomed the students from Stirling to Glensburgh last Saturday. The Stags had edged the previous meeting by 1 point and welcomed back McIntyre and Scott in the centre. However the home side seemed asleep as they failed to collect the kick off and were immediately under pressue. The students kicked an early penalty but the Stags hit back with a McIntyre break and Noble was just in touch as he tried to score in the corner. The students hit back with a kick to the corner which bounced awaay from the defence and the winger scored in the corner. Down by eight points the Stags finally gained some control with Skipper kicking a penalty. On 20 minutes the Stags scored their first try. McIntyre made another break and when he was stopped the ball was spread through the hands with Chapman giving the scorig pass to McPherson. Skipper missed the conversion. The students hit back again when Skipper was caught in midfield and from the turnover the ball was fed out to the wing for another score which was well converted from the touchline. Right on half time a number 8 pick up was carried on by Mncube and Skipper was on hand to take the scoring pass. half time 13 - 15.

With the wind at their back in the second half the home side were soon on the attack. Chapman made 2 breaks but the final passes went astray with the line open. After 10 minutes of the half the Stags took the lead with Tucker taking a simple pass to crash over near the posts to give Skipper an easy conversion. Once again the students hit back with a try. Grangemouth were penalised for a late tackle and the stand off took a quick tap penalty to score under the posts. Stirling increased their lead with another penalty. With 15 minutes to go and the Stags down by 5 points the home side required some cool heads to try and secure the victory. Unfortunately the Stags discipline was poor with McNiff receiving a yellow card for a dangerous tackle and Mcfarlane receiving a similar punishment. With the last play of the game a penalty was reversed for foul play and Stirling kicked to touch to hold on for the win. Full time Stags 20 Stirling 25

This was a poor result for the Stags in a game they should have won easily. The home side need to play more controlled rugby to suck in the defenders before trying to spin the ball wide. The next game is due to be Ross Sutherland away on 1 May. However we are trying to re-arrange one of the outstanding fixtures before then. Please check the new website for any update