Stags Prevail

It was back to league action for the Stags last Saturday as Kirkcaldy 2nds made the trip to Glensburgh for a re-arranged fixture. After the disappointment of the previous week the home side were forced to make a number of changes due to unavailability. There were six changes in the pack with Williamson and Rutherford starting at prop while in the back row Brooks and Hunter were in at wing forward with Hind at number 8. In the backs Jardine came in at centre with Denny switching to full back. The pitch had dried out remarkably well from the previous week and the game was played in good conditions. Grangemouth started well and had the early pressure. They took the lead after just 5 minutes. Fisher made a half break inside the Kirkcaldy half and found Hind in support. The number 8 burst into the 22 and sold the full back an outrageous dummy before running in under the posts. Fisher added the simple conversion. The visitors hit back and slotted a penalty soon after. However Fisher replied with a further penalty to restore the lead on 10 minutes. The game continued with both sides running the ball at every opportunity. Kirkcaldy were wide with a penalty on 20 minutes but soon after they launched an attack from deep and after some good support play the left winger cut back inside the cover to run in under the posts. The conversion levelled the scores. Grangemouth were back in front soon after. A kick and chase by Stangoe resulted in another penalty at the breakdown and once again Fisher kicked the points. The visitors hit back and took the lead on the half hour mark after driving a five metre lineout over the line for an unconverted score. The lead only lasted a couple of minutes as once again Kirkcaldy gave away a penalty and Fisher landed the kick. HT Stags 16 Kirkcaldy 15.

The game continued in a similar vein in the second half. Kinnear had a good run up the wing and a few minutes later Fisher increased the lead with another penalty. Grangemouth continued to attack and Toroki made 20 metres after a burst from the base of the scrum. Once again Kirkcaldy were caught offside and Fisher again converted the kick. Grangemouth were unable to increase their lead as the visitors defended well. As the game entered the closing minutes Kirkcaldy mounted a series of attacks close to the Stags line. They forced a number of scrums close to the Grangemouth line and despite holding the initial drives the Kirkcaldy scrum half was able to snipe down the blind side and crash over for the try. With the final kick of the game the visitors had the chance to snatch the draw but the conversion from wide out drifted past the posts. FT Stags 22 Kirkcaldy 20.

This was a hard fought win for the much changed Stags side. The back row played well while Fisher controlled the game and added 17 points with a 100% kicking record. This week sees the sides meet again when Grangemouth travel to Kirkcaldy with a 3pm KO