Stags Get Max Points on the Road

The halfway point in the league season was reached last Saturday as Grangemouth travelled to Broughty Ferry to take on Panmure. The Stags welcomed back Fulton and Neill to the forwards and there was a first start of the season for Clyne at fullback. The pitch was in remarkably good condition after the heavy morning rain and Grangemouth decided to play up the slope and into the strong wind in the first half. The home side used the conditions to dominate the early territory and they slotted a penalty after 6 minutes to open the scoring. However the Grangemouth forwards were able to dominate possession at the scrum and lineout and this prevented the home side from exerting extended pressure on the Stags line. Panmure did miss a second penalty on 20 minutes but as the second quarter progressed Grangemouth were able to gain some territory of their own. First Herron had a strong run and then from a turnover deep in their 22 the ball was moved wide to Serafini who raced 20 metres and followed up his kick ahead to gain a penalty on the Panmure 22. The Stags ran the penalty and the initial attack was halted by the home defence. A further move saw Denny switch play back to the blindside and he linked with Weir who gave the scoring pass to the supporting Innes for the opening try of the game. McInally nailed the difficult conversion into the wind. Soon after from a midfield scrum Ward and Clyne combined to release Serafini but the winger was caught on the 22 and the chance was lost. Grangemouth continued to dominate before half time but were unable to add to their score. HT Panmure 3 Stags 7

The Stags were immediately on the attack at the start of the second half and quickly doubled their score with a well worked team try. Ward collected a loose kick in the middle of the park and linked with McInally who made ground to the 22. The forwards had a couple of drives before the ball was released to Skipper who timed his pass perfectly to allow Innes to score near the posts. Once again McInally added the extra 2 points. The one way traffic continued and a couple of minutes later the home side conceded a penalty 5 metres from their line as they held on at a ruck following a kick from Skipper. The penalty was kicked into touch and from the clean lineout catch the forwards drove over the line. From the side lines it was not clear who had collected the score but later on Neill claimed the score. Once again from the kick off the Stags were back on the attack. Herron had another run to the 22 before the pack again drove a lineout. Curran and Innes then had drives close to the line before the home side conceded another penalty. Neill took the quick tap and when he was held up Fulton was on hand to rip the ball clear and dive over near the posts. McInally kicked the conversion. Try number 5 followed 3 minutes later. From a scrum in midfield Neill linked with Ward who passed to Skipper. The stand off kicked through and followed up to scoop the ball to the supporting Serafini for a well worked score. Once again the conversion from McInally was on target. As the game entered the final quarter good work from Stirling took play up to the home 22. The ball was moved wide and Innes passed ( hard to believe!) to Skipper for an easy score. Again McInally added the extra 2 points. With 5 minutes to go Grangemouth wrapped up the win with try number 7. The ball was moved left and McNiff made the initial run. The flanker ignored a two man overlap and was tackled inside the 22. The ball was quickly recycled and Innes was on hand to complete his hat trick. McInally made it 6 successful kicks from 7. FT Panmure 3 Stags 47

This was a very comfortable win for the Stags who dominated the game after a slow start in the difficult conditions. The forwards controlled the set pieces and the backs attacked at every opportunity with Innes good value for his 3 trys. There is no game next Saturday due to the Scotland v Japan game so the next match is on 16 November away to Harris with KO 2pm.