League Leaders Take the Spoils

League leaders Caithness were the visitors to Glensburgh last Saturday as they made the long trip south from Thurso. The Stags made 2 changes from the previous week with Stirling back at hooker and McNab switching to back row. The heavy morning downpour had cleared but the pitch was soft after all the recent rain. Caithness started well and almost scored after just 4 minutes. From a scrum in midfield they broke blind and kicked ahead with Dempsey showing good awareness and pace to chase back and touch down to prevent a score. The visitors maintained the pressure and kicked a simple penalty soon after for the early lead. On 15 minutes Caithness were awarded another kickable penalty after the Stags got in a tangle at the base of a scrum. This time the visitors decided to go for the corner but the Grangemouth defence held firm and were able to clear upfield. The opening try finally came on 25 minutes. Caithness moved the ball wide with the fullback creating the extra man. He kicked over the head of Gemmell and had enough pace to win the foot race and dive on the ball for an unconverted score. The Stags continued to struggle to gain any useful possession in the visitors half. Gemmell and Dempsey combined to take play up to the Caithness 22 where the visitors were penalised at the breakdown. The kick from Skelton was unsuccessful but the stand off was on target with a second kick a few minutes later.Just before half time it was the visitors who increased their lead with their second try. They took a tap penalty and a switch move and a simple offload resulted in a converted score. HT Stags 3 Caithness 15.

Grangemouth made a couple of changes at the break with Binnie and Gibson coming on in the pack. However it was the visitors who looked lively t the start of the half. The Stags defence was solid and gradually the home side began to secure more ball. Dempsey had a good run before once again the visitors were penalised at the breakdown. Skelton was on target for his second penalty. He was wide with a further kick before the Stags lost Hind and Gibson to injury. Caithness were then reduced to 14 men when their fullback was penalised for a high tackle. Grangemouth looked to try and benefit rom the extra man. A typical Stangoe burst was carried on by Kerry before once again the visitors were penalised at the ruck. Skelton reduced the lead to 6 points. However Caithness were soon restored to 15 and worked their way back into the Stags 22. Their forwards had a series of drives at the line before finally they crashed over from short range for a converted score. As the game entered the final few minutes Caithness pinned Grangemouth back inside their 22. The Stags tried to run out of defence but were unable to break clear. The visitors regained the ball and in a repeat of their third try had repeated drives for the line before finally collecting the bonus point score. FT Stags 9 Caithness 29

While Caithness deserved the victory the scoreline does not reflect the closeness of the game. The visitors were very organised and took their chances well. The Stags were disappointed with their performance especially in the first half. The home side struggled throughout to gain enough good possession with the lineout an ongoing problem. This week the leagues reach the halfway point with the Stags having another difficult game as they travel to Forfar to take on Strathmore with KO 3pm.