It was first against third last Saturday as the Stags travelled to Stirling to take on the University in their re-arranged league fixture. Grangemouth made four changes in their starting line up with the return of experienced Stirling and Neill in the forwards and McPherson and Johnstone linking up at half back. The morning rain had stopped and the firm pitch and still conditions were ideal for rugby. Grangemouth started well and were soon on the attack. They ran a kickable penalty after 6 minutes but the move came to nothing. However the opening score did follow on 11 minutes. McFarlane picked up from a scrum just outside the students 22 and passed to Denny on the blind side. He linked with Herron who showed great strength to shrug off the attempted tackle and outpace the defence to score near the posts. Innes was on target with the conversion. Grangemouth continued to push for more scores. On 17 minutes they gained a lineout 10 metres out and drove over the line but were held up by some good defence. As the game entered the second quarter the Stags scrum took a ball against the head and McPherson kicked long downfield into the students 22. The attempted clearance was collected by a charging Craig who made ground before an Innes chip was scrambled clear by some last gasp University defence. The Stags had to wait until the 35th minute for their second score. A lineout throw to the front seemed to be knocked on and Craig hacked on. Neill gathered the kick 5 metres out before slipping the pass back to Craig who crashed over in the corner for an unconverted try. Stirling tried to hit back before the break and a penalty attempt went wide. There was just time for Grangemouth to grab their third try as the students tried to run out of defence and lost the ball. Innes kicked on and the Stags gained a 5 metre scrum. The solid platform saw Herron come off his wing to set up play in front of the posts and quick recycling saw skipper McInally dive over to leave Innes the simple conversion. Half time Uni 0 Stags 19

Grangemouth went looking for the all important bonus point try at the start of the second period but were quickly pegged back by the lively University team. An inch perfect cross field kick after 5 minutes of the half was collected by the student’s right wing for and excellent converted score. A few minutes later Stirling missed another kick at goal before successfully converting a lineout penalty on 55 minutes. The Stags went back on the attack and scored their fourth try on the hour mark. Johnstone tried to kick for touch from a penalty but failed to find the target. Dempsey followed up with a crunching tackle and substitute Serafini collected the loose ball and drove close to the student’s line. Quick ruck ball saw Davy McFarlane pass to his brother Connor and he was able to stretch out for the all important score. The conversion was missed. The game became very loose in the closing minutes with both sides turning over the ball at the breakdown. A Stirling player was red carded with 5 minutes left but Grangemouth were unable to use their numerical advantage to increase their lead. Full time University 10 Grangemouth Stags 24.

This was another important bonus point win for the Stags in a hard fought encounter with a University side who battled to the end. This result sees Grangemouth maintain their slender lead at the top of the table. However the players and coaches know they will have to tighten up for next weeks crucial home game against Glenrothes. The Fife side have been scoring points for fun recently and are sitting second in the league just a point behind the Stags but with a game in hand. The sides have already met twice this season with Glens winning the reverse fixture earlier in the season and Grangemouth winning their bowl encounter in January. This should be a very close game and a big crowd is expected for the 3pm KO. The Stags also now know their opponents for the final of the Midland Bowl on 23 February as Panmure ran out winners against Fife Southern in the other semi final. The venue will be decided this week and supporters are advised to check the website for details.