Rugby: Grangemouth Stags surge to big win in league opener against Stirling

Grangemouth fielded several new faces, with Kerr and Venter in the centre and Sikora and Geldenhuys in the back row. The Stags made a strong start, winning their first three scrums against the head and pinning County back in their own 22.

On eight minutes, County tried to attack from deep, but their kick-through was blocked and picked up by Coyle. He offloaded to Kerr, who raced up the line, beat the cover and ran around under the posts. Coyle added the conversion.

Grangemouth continued to dominate and added a second try on 20 minutes. Venter made the initial break before being stopped just short of the line. The ball was recycled to White, who bulldozed over from close range, although the conversion was off target.

A few minutes later, the Stags increased their lead. From a lineout on the County 22, Grangemouth worked through several phases before the ball reached Kerr, who burst through for his second try. The conversion again went wide.

County then enjoyed a spell of pressure, but their promising attack was halted on the Stags’ 22 when Venter ripped the ball from the attacker, stepped out of the tackle and raced 75 metres for an excellent individual score. Coyle added the simple conversion.

County were struggling to clear their lines and were soon driven back towards their own try line. They took the ball over their line in a ruck, allowing Watson to dive on it for another Stags try. Coyle was again on target.

Having established a 31-point lead, Grangemouth switched off in the final few minutes of the half, allowing County to grab two quick scores. The first came after a bounce pass allowed the home centre to break the defensive line for a converted try.

Then, following a couple of penalties, County worked a move around the front of the lineout for an unconverted score to make it 12-31 at the break.

Grangemouth were loose with the ball in their own 22 and County pounced, picking up possession and scoring from close range.

The Stags soon restored their dominance. A powerful run from Sikora broke several tackles before he offloaded to Stanley, who slipped the scoring pass to Geldenhuys. Stanley added the conversion.

As the game entered the final quarter, County collected their bonus point when they were awarded a try following a drive to the line that appeared to have fallen short.

From the restart, County attempted to run from deep, but a wild pass was intercepted and moved to Bell, who barrelled over for the score. Stanley converted.

Venter then stepped his way through a couple of defenders before passing to Stanley for another try, with the fullback converting his own score.

Straight from the kick-off, the ball was passed to Sikora, who burst through four attempted tackles to race 60 metres for the score. Stanley again added the extras.

With the final play, County intercepted a promising Stags attack on their 22 and ran in for a final score.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a comfortable victory for the Stags. They dominated up front, winning several scrums against the head, while County struggled to handle the powerful running of White, Sikora and Geldenhuys.

Grangemouth will know they were loose at times and will need to cut down on their mistakes in the coming matches.

This weekend the Stags are again on the road, travelling to Cupar to face Howe of Fife, with a 3pm kick-off.

At Glensburgh, the seconds followed up their hard-fought victory over Rosyth the previous week with a resounding 52-19 win over Dunfermline 2s.

The Stags produced an excellent team performance, totally dominating the first half. Tries from Waneen (3), Luke Quinn, Anderson and McCormack gave Grangemouth a 34–0 lead at the interval.

The second half saw further scores from Quinn, Poland and the prolific Martin as the Stags ran out comfortable winners. Waneen was a deserved man of the match. The 2s are also on the road this weekend, travelling to face Aberfeldy with a 3pm kick-off.

On Sunday, the Grangemouth Women kicked off their season with an impressive 65-15 victory over Hillfoots, making it three wins from three for the Grangemouth senior sides over the weekend.

Try scorers included Maclean, Jagne, Coyle and Forsyth. This weekend the women are at home when they face Howe of Fife on Sunday, with a 2pm kick-off.

Falkirk

Newton Stewart away has consistently been one of the toughest Arnold Clark National Division 2 fixtures on the calendar, but Falkirk’s blend of youth and experience came through a pulsating encounter to claim an impressive 27-24 victory last Saturday.

The visitors made the better start after sustained pressure, with Stewart McCulloch opening the scoring and Lewis Jamieson adding the extras.

Falkirk doubled their lead midway through the first half when Jamieson broke the line and put Erin Baisley through for a simple converted try under the posts.

A further Jamieson penalty made it 17-0 after half an hour, but Newton Stewart responded with a try in the corner before putting Falkirk under heavy pressure as half-time approached.

Excellent defensive work kept them out and Falkirk led 17-5 at the break.

Falkirk extended their advantage early in the second half when Archie Ballingall sniped over after a neat show-and-go, with Jamieson converting to make it 24-5.

Newton Stewart, however, launched a determined comeback. They scored almost immediately and a third try in the 65th minute, followed by a team yellow card for Ballingall, left the home side sensing an opportunity.

With only minutes remaining, Newton Stewart took advantage of the extra man out wide to level at 24-24 with a converted try.

Falkirk responded brilliantly, working their way upfield to win a penalty five metres from the posts. They resisted the temptation to chase a try and Jamieson calmly slotted the kick to restore the lead at 27-24.

The referee allowed time for a restart, leading to a nervy finale, particularly when two apparent Newton Stewart knock-ons went unpunished. Falkirk’s defence held firm.

At Horne Park, Falkirk’s second XV fielded an extremely young side against a solid Glenrothes team in the Arnold Clark Caledonia Region League Division 2. They lost out narrowly, going down 45-32 to the Fife outfit.

There was further cause for celebration as Falkirk Women recorded a historic result in their first-ever competitive home league fixture, beating Kirkcaldy 85-0.