Stags Back to Winning Ways

After the disappointment of the cup exit the previous week the Stags were back in league action last Saturday as they travelled to face Blairgowrie. Grangemouth made two changes to the starting line up with the return of skipper Weir in the front row and Scott slotting into the back row to replace McNiff. The morning rain had stopped and, despite the strong wind blowing across the park , conditions were good for rugby. Grangemouth were quickly on the attack and a kick from Innes and chase from Herron pinned the home side in their 22. The opening try followed a driving lineout by the Stags forwards with young Rutherford claiming the touchdown. Innes was on target with the conversion. Grangemouth continued to dominate possession and territory and increased their lead after 10 minutes. The Blairgowrie backs dropped the ball in midfield and the Stags moved the ball wide to the wing where Pedyo made ground into the 22. He threw the ball back inside and it was 2nd row Cunningham who scooped up the ball for a clear run to the line. The conversion was wide. Grangemouth continued to press and went close on 23 minutes. Aspinall took a quick tap penalty to take play into the home 22. The ball was recycled and Binnie was unlucky to knock on just short of the line. The try was only delayed as the home side attempted to clear from the scrum but the kick failed to find touch and was well taken by Herron. The winger burst through the attempted tackle to run in at the corner for an unconverted score. Having totally dominated the opening half hour the Stags then let the Blairgowrie back into the game. The home side had some pressure on the Stags line with a series of drives by their big forwards but solid defence prevented a score. Grangemouth then broke down field but a wild pass on half way allowed the home side to counter attack and some good support play saw them score under the posts. Just on half time another attack was only halted by an excellent covering tackle by Herron. HT Blairgowrie 7 Stags 17

Grangemouth took charge again at the start of the second half. They pinned the home side in their own half and scored the bonus point try on 50 minutes. From a scrum on the 22 Aspinall picked up and made 10 metres before slipping the ball back inside to Clyne for a simple score. Innes was on target with the kick. Try number five followed soon after. Pedyo made the initial run and when the ball was moved wide Innes and Herron exchanged passes and it was the winger who beat the cover for his second score. Once again Innes added the extra 2 points. With 10 minutes left the Stags added another score. The forwards did the hard work with a series of scrums to take play deep into the home 22. Finally the ball was moved to the blind side where Parsons timed his pass perfectly to allow Pedyo to squeeze in at the corner. Innes landed the difficult conversion from the touchline. Blairgowrie did manage a consolation score in the closing minutes. A speculative kick into the dead ball area bounced away from the Stags defenders and it was the home centre following up who claimed the score. FT Blairgowrie 14 Stags 38.

This was a very comfortable win for the Stags who dominated for long periods of the game and should really have scored more points. The scrum was well on top throughout and the backs looked lively in attack and defence. This Saturday the Stags travel to take on Kinross. KO is 2pm.