Road and Miles to Dundee sees loss

For their final away fixture of 2023 the Stags headed to the City of Discovery to face second place
Dundee 2s. Grangemouth made 6 changes in total from the previous week. Ferguson, Kerry and
McNab were back in the forwards while in the backs Siddiq was on the wing, Fraser had his first start
in the centre with Gemmell switching to his usual position of fullback. On a sunny but very cold
afternoon the morning frost had just about lifted and conditions were good for rugby. The home
side signalled their intentions from the start with their hard running and offloading game making
ground from deep. They stretched the Stags defence to the left and quick ball and a long pass saw
the home player have an easy run in at the corner. The conversion was off target. Grangemouth
settled into the game and Gemmell was almost in at the corner but was just in touch. Then Skelton
was just short with a long range penalty attempt. On 20 mins the home side added their 2 nd score.
They carved open the Grangemouth defence in midfield and were halted just short of the line. At the
resultant ruck the Stags were caught napping with no guard and the Dundee centre was able to stroll
in for the converted score. The Stags responded straight from the kick off. Dundee lost the ball and
Ferguson picked up and passed to Watson. The hooker made ground and his long pass allowed
Christie to come off his wing and cut inside the cover for the score. Skelton added the extras. The
end to end play continued and the home side were almost in after a sweeping move but the final
pass failed to go to hand and the chance was lost. White then had a great carry from a defensive
scrum with Kerry in support. Skelton’s cross field kick was initially well controlled by Christie but as
he hacked on the ball dribbled over the dead ball line. Grangemouth added their second try a few
minutes later. Johnston won a lineout deep in the home 22. Rooney carried the ball close to the line
and when the ball was moved back to the blindside Kerry burst through the defence and bumped
the fullback for the score. Skelton was unable to add the extras. On 37 minutes the Stags were in
front. A long kick from Skelton resulted in a 50/22. McNab secured the lineout and the pack drove
on. When the ball reached Skelton his long pass found Christie running a good angle and the winger
had enough strength to force himself over under the sticks. Skelton added the extras. Dundee
initially regained possession from the kick off but then lost the ball. Grangemouth counter attacked
from deep with good link play between forwards and backs. Kerry had a couple of carries and when
the big man was hauled down just short of the line the ball was popped to Spence who crashed over
from close range. Skelton added an excellent conversion from near the touchline.. HT Dundee 12
Stags 26
The home side came out strongly at the start of the second period and hit the Stags with 3 quick
scores. Their direct running sucked in the Grangemouth defence and when the ball was moved wide
they had enough pace to beat the cover for an unconverted score in the corner. Straight from the
kick off more good carries saw Dundee back close to the line and quick possession from the ruck
allowed a forward to crash over. This time the conversion was on target. Again the home side
attacked from the kick off and good continuity resulted in another converted score. The Stags were
shell shocked by losing quick scores but to their credit fought back and retook the lead. The home
side were turned over in midfield. The ball was moved to Clark who burst through to the 22 and
quickly recycled ball saw Skelton pass to replacement Taylor in acres of space for an easy run in.
Skelton slotted the conversion. Grangemouth had a chance for a further score a few minutes later. A
Skelton kick was chased down by Christie and Ferguson. Johnston continued the move but he was
unable to link with White and Dundee were able to escape. As the game entered the final quarter
the home side upped their efforts. They countered from deep and only desperate defence from the
Stags held them up over the line. From the dropout they attacked again and this time were able to
force their way over for a converted score. On 65 minutes further pressure resulted in a wayward
clearance kick from the Stags. The home fullback collected the ball and sliced through the defence
for another 7 points. Another try quickly followed as good carries and link play resulted in an
unconverted score in the corner. The closing 10 minutes saw Grangemouth back on the attack. They

had a series of scrums close to the Dundee line but somehow the home side survived. Then after
Skelton and Wieczorek linked from a tap penalty Rooney carried and found Gemmell on his shoulder
for the score. Skelton added the conversion with the last kick of the game. FT Dundee 50 Stags 40.
This was a cracking game of rugby with both sides willing to attack from deep. Grangemouth will be
disappointed by the first 10 minutes of the second half when they were unable to secure any
possession and leaked 19 points. There were some encouraging signs. This was the most fluent
performance by the backs while again the scrums and lineouts were solid. Christie was a deserved
man of the match for his 2 trys and all round game while Johnston and Kerry showed up well in the
loose. There is no game this weekend and the next match is at home on 9 December when Kinross
travel to Glensburgh.