Back to Winning Ways

After the disappointment of their cup exit the previous week the Stags were finally back in league action for the first time since December as they faced Kinross at Glensburgh last Saturday. With a host of players unavailable Grangemouth made a total of 9 changes from the previous week with 6 changes in personnel and 3 positional switches. There were starts for Sloan, Quinn, and Chris McGregor in the pack and Forsyth, Balfour and Rooney in the backs. The local side had the advantage of the biting wind in the first half but it was the visitors who had the early possession and pressure. Kinross took the lead on 12 minutes with a simple penalty as the Stags struggled for any fluency with ball in hand. Five minutes later the home side finally created some pressure. They held onto the ball in the Kinross 22 and when the ball was recycled Rooney burst through the defensive line to score under the posts. Skelton slotted the simple conversion. Kinross regained the ball from the kick off but a good counter ruck by the Stags resulted in a sweeping attack from deep. There were carries from McGregor, Harvey and Sloan before Clark was on hand to collect the final pass and dive over. Once again Skelton added the extras. The kick off failed to go 10 metres and from the scrum on halfway White picked up and passed to Forsyth. The scrum half fed on to Gemmell who drew in the final defender before passing to Siddiq for an easy run in for the score. This time Skelton was wide with the conversion attempt. The bonus point was secured on 34 minutes. A Kinross lineout on their 22 was overthrown and Clark grabbed the loose ball to make ground . When the ball was recycled Forsyth had a dart before passing to Johnston and the young flanker raced in for the score. Skelton added the conversion. HT Stags 26 Kinross 3.

The second half was a very forgettable affair as both sides made numerous handling errors and conceded silly penalties. On 55 minutes Grangemouth added their 5th try. After a spell of pressure in the visitors 22 the Stags were awarded a penalty. They took a quick tap and the ball was moved wide for Siddiq to round his man and score in the corner. The conversion was missed. As the game entered the final quarter the Stags were back on the attack. Kinross gave away a series of penalties and from 10 metres out Harvey took the quick tap kick and powered over the line for the score. Skelton was unable to add the extras. The remainder of the game was very scrappy with numerous mistakes. A rare attack from the visitors resulted in a 5 metre scrum and from this their number 8 was able to pick up and drive over for a converted score. FT. Stags 36. Kinross 10.

This was a comfortable victory for the home side but a game littered with mistakes, poor options and frequent penalties. As a result the home side struggled for any fluency in attack. Johnston was a deserved man of the match and there were good performances by Quinn, McGregor and Balfour. The Stags now wait to see if they have further fixtures to play in April.