Winning Sequence Extended at Kirkcaldy

After the narrow win the previous week the sides met again in the reverse fixture last Saturday as Grangemouth travelled to Kirkcaldy for their final away league fixture of the season. The Stags brought in Jamieson, Stirling, Shaw, Gemmell and Sloan and also made 4 positional changes in a strong looking starting line up. On a good day for rugby it was the home side who made the better start but were denied by some solid defence by the local side. On 5 minutes a break out from their 22 saw Jardine make a strong run down his wing and when the ball was moved to the left Sloan also made 20 metres before being bundled into touch. The Stags continued to press with a driving maul from a lineout on the Kirkcaldy 22 but the home side defended well and were able to clear their lines. The deadlock was finally broken on 20 minutes when Fisher landed a simple kick after the home side were caught offside. Kirkcaldy hit back and Gemmell had to look sharp in defence as he cleared a couple of dangerous situations with some strong running. Kirkcaldy continued to attack and only some last gasp defending kept them out. However after conceding a few penalties inside their 22 the Stags were reduced to 14 men when Rutherford was given a yellow card after straying offside at a ruck close to the line. The home side took immediate advantage of the extra man by sucking in the Stags defence before moving the ball wide for their left winger to slide in at the corner for an unconverted score. Despite being a player down Grangemouth finished the half on top. Another driving maul by the forwards made 20 metres and when the ball was moved by the backs Jardine was able to round his man and score in the corner. Fisher was wide with the conversion attempt but just on half time he landed a second penalty to increase the lead. HT Kirkcaldy 5 Stags 11.

Grangemouth made a great start to the second half. Brooks collected the kick off to set up a ruck just outside their 22. Fisher made a dart down the blindside and linked with Sloan who galloped down the line. He was tackled on the home 22 but Hind was in support to collect the pass and run in for an excellent score. Fisher slotted the difficult conversion. Kirkcaldy continued to run the ball at every opportunity and after a break by the home centre Gemmell made a fine tackle to deny the score. Fisher added another penalty to increase the lead as Kirkcaldy were again penalised at the breakdown. As the game entered the final quarter a quickly taken tap penalty saw Jamieson rumble over from 20 metres with Fisher again on target with the conversion. Five minutes later some poor tackling by the Stags saw Kirkcaldy run a tap penalty and break through the defence to score under the posts. The Stags hit back and collected the bonus point score on 70 minutes. Another lineout drive by the pack took play up to the line and Hind peeled off the back of the maul for the score. Fisher was unable to add the extra points.
FT Kirkcaldy 12 Stags 33

This was a much improved performance by the Stags. The lineout was solid and there was some good link play between backs and forwards. Gemmell, Sloan and Jardine ran well when the ball was moved wide. However there is still some work to be done on first up tackling and the side are still giving away far too many penalties. With Madras withdrawing from the league the Stags now have 3 home games to complete the league programme with the next game this Saturday against Kinross with KO 3pm. Grangemouth have also been re-instated into the National Bowl competition as Stirling University withdrew. The semi final tie is on 26 March against Millbrae (Ayr) KO 3pm