Stags Fall at First Hurdle

For the second season in a row Grangemouth opened their league campaign last Saturday by making the short trip to take on current National Bowl champions Alloa. Last season’s games had been won by the home teams and once again a difficult match was expected. The Stags fielded a huge pack with Jamieson, Weir and Reid in the front row while in the backs Myles was on the wing and there was a starting spot for veteran scrum half Wilson. On a warm and sunny afternoon Grangemouth were first on the attack. However it was the home side who opened the scoring after just 5 minutes. They moved the ball from deep in their own half up to the Stags 22. The ball was recycled to the right and the winger beat the cover to run round under the posts for a converted score. Crucially for the Stags the move also saw Jardine limp off with a leg injury while Hind once again sustained a dislocated shoulder. Scott came on at centre with Hendry coming on in the back row. Alloa continued to press and scored try number 2 on12 minutes. The home side took a quick tap penalty and the forwards drove over for another converted score. The Stags dominated the possession and territory in the next 15 minutes but were held out by a combination of good home defence and frequent turnovers at the breakdown. Once again the home side struck from deep after securing a lineout on their own 22. They swept up field and despite the initial attack being halted by good cover defence from Myles the ball was moved wide to the right to create the overlap and score in the corner. Just on half time Alloa scored the bonus point try. The home side turned down a kick at goal and from a quick tap penalty the scrum half burrowed over for another converted score. HT Alloa 26 Stags 0

The Stags were quickly on the attack at the start of the second half. They pressurised the home scrum close to their line. The ball was moved out to Scott who burst through and was tackled just short of the line before Denny followed up to collect a rare try. The centre duly added the conversion. The lead was narrowed further on 46 minutes with Denny adding a penalty. Alloa responded and after a series of attacks close to the Stags line the home scrum half once again darted over from short range for a converted score. They increased their lead on the hour mark with a break down the blindside. The winger flipped the ball back inside for the support to score in the corner. Soon after Grangemouth scored their second try. Rutherford secured the ball at the back of an attacking lineout. The forwards had a series of drives at the line before finally Jamieson bulldozed his way over from short range. Denny once again added the conversion. In the closing minutes Alloa were back on the attack and they demolished the Stags scrum with the number 8 having the simple task of completing the scoring. FT Alloa 45 Stags 17

This was a disappointing result for the Stags. They were not helped by the early injuries but they failed to capitalise on the possession and territory in the first half and turned over far too much ball throughout the game. This week Grangemouth are at home against Morgan with a 3pm KO