Grangemouth Stags edged out as Llandybie take Alban Jenkins Shield back to Wales

This was the 68th year of this historic fixture making it the longest running continuous fixture between Scottish and Welsh club sides.

Both clubs were able to select strong squads and, after last years draw, another tight match was expected.

The morning rain had cleared and although the pitch was soft conditions were good for rugby.

The opening exchanges were fairly even with both sides defending well and competing hard at the breakdown.

The deadlock was broken on 15 minutes. The visitors were penalised at a ruck 30 metres from their own line. Scrum-half McCormack took a quick tap penalty and outpaced the cover to run in for the score. He added the simple conversion.

The half continued with both sides giving away penalties at the breakdown and the referee had to speak to both captains.

Llandybie kicked a penalty on 25 minutes to reduce the deficit and the remainder of the half was scoreless with neither side creating any clear scoring opportunities with the score at 7-3.

The Stags almost scored at the start of the second half. The visitors dropped the ball just outside their 22. Skipper for the day Allan hacked through and was just pipped to the ball by the covering defender.

From attacking at one end the home side then conceded a series of penalties and were back defending their own line.

Llandybie were held up over the line but a couple of minutes later they drove a five-metre scrum and were able to squeeze over for a converted try.

The game became bogged down in midfield with both sides guilty of handling errors and giving away silly penalties.

The closing ten minutes saw a nasty elbow injury to Fraser Spence. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Llandybie missed a couple of long range penalties while the home side blew a clear overlap opportunity with a wild pass.

The game finished with the visitors on the attack but a final knock on ended the match with the visitors sealing a 10-7 win.

And so with that Llandybie regained the Alban Jenkins Shield for the first time since 2019.

This was a hard-fought game of rugby but there were far too many mistakes by both teams.

By tradition the player of the match tankard was awarded to a visiting player and this year the deserved winner was Merlyn Mclelland.

For the Stags, it was good to see Chris McGregor playing in the match to become the latest third generation player from his family following on from his grandfather Derek, father Ian and brother Adam.

In addition, for the first time in this fixture, three brothers, Peter, Samuel and Luke Quinn, all started and were joined by their uncle Pete Brough. A fantastic family achievement.

The next games for the Stags are on the Saturday, March 22 when the 1s face Dundee at home and the 2s make the short trip to face Stirling County.