The Long and Winding Road to St Andrews

It was back to league business and a return visit to Fife last Saturday as the Stags travelled to St Andrews to take on Madras. Grangemouth made two changes to the starting line up with Ward and Johnstone at 9 and 10 for the unavailable McPherson and Sangster. On a perfect day for rugby Grangemouth were on top from the start and dominated the early territory and possession. The opening score came after just 8 minutes. From a scrum deep in the Madras 22 McFarlane picked up to make the initial metres. The ball was quickly recycled and Ward was able to pop a pass to Jamieson who flopped over for his usual short range score. D.J Innes added the conversion. The Stags continued to press for further scores but were initially hampered by some poor handling. Dempsey and Parsons had good runs from deep and Jack was held up over the line. The pressure finally paid off on 24 minutes with a second try. The Stags won a lineout just outside the home 22 and Johnstone set up the ruck in midfield. The ball was switched back to the blindside where Jamieson burst through the initial attempted tackle to rumble over from 20 metres. Once again Innes added the extra 2 points. Madras had struggled to gain any territory but from the kick off were gifted their opening score. Grangemouth attempted to run the ball from under their posts but knocked on and the home side gathered the loose ball for an easy unconverted try. With 10 minutes to go in the half Grangemouth increased their lead with try number three. After a series of scrums they took a quick tap penalty and good handling in the backs allowed Denny the space to cross in the corner. This time the conversion was missed. Despite continued pressure from the Stags there were no further scores before the break. Half time Madras 5 – Stags 19

The second half saw Grangemouth immediately back on the attack as they looked for the bonus point score. The Stags were camped in the home 22 and from a scrum McFarlane picked up and his flat pass found Innes on a perfect angled run to split the defence and score under the posts. The young centre added the conversion himself. The one way traffic continued and try number 5 followed soon after. Once again the ball was moved wide from a scrum and Dempsey was able to beat his man for a simple score. Again Innes added the conversion. Play became scrappy as the match entered the final quarter with too many handling errors from the Stags. Innes added a simple penalty before very much against the run of play Madras manufactured a well worked try of their own. They won a lineout on the Stags 22 and good handling in the backs saw the home centre loop round to score under the posts. Grangemouth hit back and finished the game strongly with 3 trys in the closing 5 minutes. First from a solid scrum the ball was moved wide in the backs and Dempsey was able to squeeze in at the corner. Straight from the kick off Aspinall ran the ball back to set up play in the home half. The ball was recycled to Jamieson who dummied and ran 20 metres before being tackled. Quick ball saw Herron beat the defence to score wide out. There was just time to add try number 8. Innes made the initial run up the left wing and when the ball was moved wide the forwards had gathered on the other wing where Curran was on hand to claim the score. Final score Madras 12 Stags 51.

This was a very comfortable win for the Stags who dominated throughout and should really have scored more points. The coaches know that the players will have to improve their overall sharpness for the tougher games ahead. A special mention to the the car containing Dempsey, Innes, Thomson and Herron who got lost and took the scenic route to St Andrews via Perth, Dundee, the Tay Bridge and Cupar. Clearly some map reading and geography coaching is called for! This Saturday the Stags are at home against near neighbours Alloa with KO 2pm