Perthshire made the trip south down the A9 last Saturday for round 4 of the league season. The Perth club had won both games against the Stags last season and were unbeaten this season so a tough match was expected. Grangemouth made a number of changes with Nesbitt returning to the side and first starts of the season for Bell, Forsyth and Herron. In addition there were positional changes for Hind and Coyle. Conditions were tricky with a strong breeze and intermittent heavy rain making handling difficult. The visitors made a strong start and almost scored off their first possession. Their fullback cut through the defensive line and only an excellent tackle from Coyle prevented the score. Herron then had a good run up the line before being bundled into touch 10 metres from the line. The Stags continued to press and came close when a driving maul from a lineout was illegally halted. The opening score came shortly after. Perth tried to run from their goal line but a pass was deflected upwards and was collected by Herron who dotted down for the simplest try he will score all season. Skelton added the extras. Grangemouth remained on top and try number 2 followed on 20 minutes. The visitors tried to clear from their dead ball area but the ball was knocked on. From the resulting 5 metre scrum White picked up and forced his way over for the score. Skelton slotted the conversion.

The Stags almost scored from the kick off. Allan burst clear and found Hind in support taking play to the opposition 22. However the ball was knocked on and the chance was lost. This allowed the visitors to score their opening try. Perth ran from their 22 with the winger having just enough room to beat his man on the outside before cutting back inside the final defender to run in unopposed from 40 metres. The conversion was successful. The closing minutes of the half saw Perthshire on top. They pinned the home side in their 22 and ran a couple of tap penalties. The Stags defence held firm and a mistake allowed the clearance to touch to end the half. HT Stags 14 Shire 7.

The 3rd quarter was a tense affair with defences on top and no clear scoring opportunities for either side. In addition, in separate incidents, both teams lost a player to a yellow card. As the game entered the final quarter Grangemouth extended their lead. Skelton kicked a penalty to the corner. Johnston secured the lineout and the pack drove over the line with Clark collecting the touchdown. This time Skelton was off target with the conversion attempt. Skelton was controlling the play and another kick pushed the visitors back into their 22. Although they won the lineout Hind was able to rip the ball clear, twist away from the tackler and run in for an unconverted score. Perth hit back and with 8 minutes to play a spell of pressure resulted in a converted try. However the Stags finished the game strongly. They almost scored a pushover try from a scrum but were held up. Bell and White then combined to take play close to the line and when the visitors were penalised at the breakdown Skelton completed the scoring with the simple penalty. FT Stags 27 Perthshire 14.