Wasteful Stags Back to Winning Ways

After the disappointing results in Dundee the previous weeks the Stags were away again last Saturday as they travelled to take on Kinross. Grangemouth made several changes with Pedyo back on the wing, Allan switching to centre, veteran prop Williamson starting in the front row and the unexpected sight of the even older ‘Rocky’ Mcfarlane starting at number 8. On a good day for rugby Grangemouth made a strong start and pinned Kinross back in their 22 with good kicking from Parsons and Innes. The forwards controlled the ball at the breakdown and when the ball was moved wide Herron crashed over in the corner for the opening score. Innes slotted the difficult conversion from wide out. The Stags continued to dominate possession and they doubled their lead soon after. The forwards drove a lineout from the 22 up to the home line and Jamieson collected the try. Once again Innes was on target with the difficult kick. As the game entered the second quarter the home side had more possession but some strong defence by the Stags denied them any chance of scoring. Grangemouth were soon back on the attack and from a scrum on the 22 McFarlane fed Hind who dummied his way through the defence to run in for the score. Innes made it 3 from 3 with the conversion. As half time approached there were breaks from Herron and Jamieson but some basic errors wasted the opportunities to score.
HT Kinross 0 Stags 21

The second half started with Kinross on top as the play became more scrappy. The stop / start nature of the game helped the home side and they duly scored as they moved the ball wide for an unconverted score in the corner. Both sides were guilty of numerous mistakes and poor decision making as neither team were able to link phases of play together. Kinross then had a spell of pressure close to the Stags line and Hind was given a yellow card for an infringement at the breakdown. The home side took advantage and their forwards drove over for a converted score. Soon after Aspinall was also given a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. In the closing stages the Stags continued press for the bonus point score but wasted their chances to score as the Kinross defence held firm. FT Kinross 12 Stags 21

After a strong performance in the opening 20 minutes the rest of the game was very disappointing as the Stags made far too many mistakes and wasted several chances to collect the bonus point. One positive was the performance of Liam Pow who marked his 1st XV debut with a solid display. This week the Stags are again on the road as they travel to play Panmure in the last away game of the season. Check the website for the KO time