Stags Flounder at Seaside

After the opening day defeat the Stags were back on the road as they travelled to St Andrews to take on Madras last Saturday. The local side were forced into a raft of changes with 6 new faces in the starting line up ( 5 in the pack ) and 3 positional changes in the backs. Grangemouth played into the wind in the first half and made a solid start. Pedyo had an early run and then McNiff and Scott combined off the base of a scrum to make 20 metres before the final pass was lost forward. All this early good work was undone on 12 minutes when the home side opened the scoring. They secured the ball from a lineout and moved the ball wide. The Madras winger managed to beat the cover and race up the line before running round under the posts for a converted score. They increased their lead on 22 minutes with a simple penalty as the Stags were caught offside. On 30 minutes Madras added try number two. Simple hands in the backs gave the left winger enough space to beat his man and run in at the corner for an easy score. The conversion was wide. Finally the Stags awoke from their slumbers. Pedyo was given space on the wing and only a last gasp tackle stopped him close to the line. From the resultant scrum Herron made the initial burst before popping the ball to Denny who scored near the posts. Herron added the conversion HT Madras 15 Stags 7

Grangemouth had a bad start to the second period. First Denny was carried off with a head knock which resulted in a major re-shuffle in the back line and then Herron was given a yellow card for a late tackle. Soon after Madras increased their lead with a penalty. Even with 14 men Grangemouth then added their second try. McNiff chased down the home full back close to the Madras goal line. Grangemouth were awarded a penalty and the tap kick was moved to Rutherford who used his bulk to crash over near the posts. The youngster then added the conversion to narrow the lead to 4 points. However Grangemouth were unable to turn pressure into points and the closing 10 minutes became a nightmare for the local side. Scott and Howe both left the field with head knocks and Christie was given a red card for foul play. Madras added a penalty and then scored 2 further unconverted scores to leave the final score Madras 31 Stags 14

This was a very disappointing result for the Stags. They dominated the scrums but were far too loose in open play, made too many basic mistakes and failed to play the game in the correct areas of the park. They also have a lengthening injury list and there is much work to be done at training in the next few weeks. This Saturday the Stags are at home against Harris. All supporters should note that KO is 4pm