Stags Open League Campaign With Away Win

For the second year in a row Grangemouth opened their league campaign by making the short trip across the Forth to take on local rivals Hillfoots. The Stags side was much changed from last season with league debuts for Haggart at fullback, Watson at hooker and young Roddy Johnston in the back row. In the backs Rooney and Harvey were in the centre while skipper Wieczorek and Skelton were again paired at half back. On a perfect day for rugby Grangemouth played up the Tillicoultry slope in the first half and were quickly on the attack. A clearance kick by Haggart and a good chase saw the home side concede a penalty at the breakdown. Hillfoots were pinned back in their 22 and conceded a scrum penalty on 5 minutes. Wieczorek slotted the simple kick. Despite making a mess of the kick off the Stags were soon back on the attack. The home side conceded several penalties for high tackles and offside. Grangemouth opted for a 5 metre scrum and White picked up to barrel over for the opening score. The conversion attempt was off target. The Stags remained on top and it was no surprise when they added try number 2 on 20 minutes. Once again the home side conceded several penalties and were given a team yellow card. Again Grangemouth opted for the close range scrum and White again picked up to crash over. This time Wieczorek was on target with the conversion. The Stags remained well on top and their 3rd try followed a few minutes later. Harvey and White combined to take play to the home 22. When the ball was recycled Skelton had a little dart before offloading to Rooney for the score. The conversion was unsuccessful. Unfortunately Skelton had to leave the field with a leg injury with Haggart moving to 10 and Ward coming on at fullback. Just before the halftime break the Stags collected the bonus point as they added try number 4. A tap penalty move on the Foots 22 saw Watson and McNiff carry to close to the line before Harvey was on hand to crash over for an unconverted score. HT Hillfoots 0 Stags 25.

In the 3rd quarter the Stags seemed to lose concentration and began to make some mistakes. This allowed the home side to finally have some possession and a spell of pressure. Grangemouth defended well until the 60 minute mark when the defensive line was finally breached as Hillfoots scored an unconverted try near the corner flag. The Stags raised their game for the closing 15 minutes and added 2 further trys. Firstly from a quickly taken tap penalty on halfway the ball was passed to White who burst through the defence to romp in from 40 metres. Then with the last play of the game good handling by backs and forwards release Harvey to coast in for his second score. Neither score was converted. FT Hillfoots 5 Stags 35.

This was a sold performance by the Stags. They totally dominated the first half with the scrum well on top and for once the lineout was working well. The intensity dropped off in the second half and there is still much to work on for the players and coaches. There were strong performances from Watson, Johnston and Harvey in attack and defence while White was man of the match for his 3 scores and strong running. This week the Stags are at home as they face Carnoustie with a 3pm KO.