Stags Take Derby Spoils

It was derby day last Saturday as Falkirk made the short trip to Glensburgh to face the Stags. Grangemouth made 4 changes from their previous outing with Skelton back in his usual spot at stand off and Spence coming in at second row. In addition there were 1st xv debuts for Dean Siddiq on the wing and young Braiden Thomson at wing forward. Conditions had dried out after the heavy overnight rain and despite playing into the breeze in the opening half the Stags had the early pressure and opened the scoring after just 5 minutes. The home side stole a lineout on the Falkirk 22. Rooney and Harvey combined to carry play close to the line and when the latter was tackled Ward was on hand to pick up and dart over from short range. Skelton added the extras. Grangemouth continued to dominate and added their second score on 10 minutes. From deep in their own half they moved the ball wide with Harvey and Christie combining to take play into the visitors half. The ball was moved back to the middle and White burst through an attempted tackle and romped in from 30 metres. Skelton added the simple conversion. As the game entered the second quarter Grangemouth increased their lead. McGregor had a good run up the left touchline and a Watson rumble took play into the visitors 22. Falkirk were penalised at the breakdown and good handling by the backs gave Siddiq enough space to run round the cover for the score. Skelton made it 3 from 3 with the conversion. Having stretched to a 21 point lead the home side seemed to switch off and started giving away silly penalties. This allowed Falkirk back into the game and they were unlucky not to open their account when only a last gasp tackle from Christie prevented a score. However a few minutes later they did score. The Stags conceded another couple of penalties close to their line and Ward was given a team yellow card. From ​the resultant tap penalty they forced their way over for the try with the conversion attempt rebounding off the upright. Grangemouth were quickly back on the attack after another run from White. The bonus point was secured just before the break. Falkirk were penalised at a ruck for holding on in their 22. White had another run from the tap penalty and when the ball was moved wide McGregor popped up on the wing to collect the final pass and slide in at the corner. The conversion attempt was off target. HT Stags 26. Falkirk 5.

The Stags increased their lead straight from the kick off. White made the initial run and offloaded to Clark on his own 10 metre line. The prop forward showed remarkable pace to outrun the cover defence and score a fine individual try. Skelton again added the extras. A couple of minutes later the home side added try number 6. Ward had a run up the left touchline before good continuity play allowed McGregor to cut back infield. When the ball was recycled Rooney was able to squeeze over near the corner flag for an unconverted score. Falkirk tried to respond but were turned over on the Stags line and the chance was lost. However they did collect their 2nd score on 55 minutes. Ex Stags player Herron received a flat pass deep in his own half. He burst clear to power over from 60 metres. The conversion was wide of the target. As the game entered the final 15 minutes and the visitors tired Grangemouth piled on the pressure and added 5 further scores. Firstly from a 5 metre scrum Harvey picked up and was hauled down just short of the line with Wieczorek on hand to pick up and dot down for the score. Skelton slotted the conversion. From the kick off Clark collected and made ground before offloading to McGregor who outpaced the cover to run in from halfway. Skelton was on target with the kick. The stand off then added his own name to the list of try scorers. Ferguson made the initial ground and when the ball was recycled Skelton dummied his way through the tiring defence to run in under the sticks before adding the extras. With 5 minutes to play Siddiq grabbed his second score. From a scrum 15 metres from the line the ball was moved wide with the winger having just enough space to score in the corner. The conversion was off target. Then with the last play of the game Quinn secured another lineout. Harvey was tackled just short and Wieczorek was on hand to add his second close range score. The kick from Skelton ended the game and took the stand offs personal tally to 21 points.. FT Stags 71. Falkirk 10.

As the scoreline would suggest this was a dominant performance from the home team. Falkirk to their credit competed well until the closing 15 minutes and were unlucky not to add further scores especially in the second quarter. However overall they were outgunned upfront, lost ball in contact and at the breakdown and missed far too many tackles. For the home side this was a much more positive performance. The scrum was again on top and after a shaky start the lineout functioned well with Luke Quinn securing plenty of good ball. In the backs Skelton was back to his best and this allowed the outside backs to finally show their attacking abilities. Chris McGregor was man of the match for his all round performance in attack and defence . This week the Stags are again at home as they face Dundee 2s with a 3pm KO.