Hillfoots 14 Grangemouth Stags 27: Big bowl warm-up win

Trailing by a point five minutes from the end, the Stags rolled up their sleeves and scored a penalty through Skelton.

They returned upfield straight from the kick-off and much to the surprise of the crowd Skelton kicked from 40m at a break-down and cleared the bar by a couple of inches to seal the win, though Allan added gloss with a late late try.

However it was the home side who made the better start and took the lead through a penalty.

Grangemouth slowly eased their way into the game as they secured some possession. Skelton made a break from deep before linking with Hugh but a forward pass halted the move. On 20 minutes another break by Skelton took play deep into the Hillfoots 22. The Stags secured a 5m scrum and good handling in the backs gave Allan enough space to beat his man and dot down in the corner. Skelton was unable to

add the extras.

A few minutes later Shannon was able to squeeze in at the corner after Allan took the Stags up the field ion the break. Once again Skelton was unable to add the difficult conversion. The home side added a second penalty for half-time, Hillfoots 6 Stags 10.

Grangemouth made the worst possible start to the second half. From the kick off they lost the ball on their own 22 and after a couple of drives the Hillfoots number 10 pushed a speculative kick into the corner. The Stags defence hesitated and this allowed the home winger to follow up and dive on the loose ball for the score.

The game remained very tight before a Skelton penalty on 60 minutes restored the lead for the Stags. The closing 10 minutes was a very tense affair. The Hillfoots pack began to dominate the scrums and with 5 minutes left they were awarded a penalty to temporarily take the lead, before the Stags’ late flurry.

This week the Stags are back at home as they welcome Blairgowrie to Glensburgh for the Caledonia Shield semi final tie. The kick off is 1.30pm.