Saturday 19th April 2008

Glensburgh Park

National League Division 2

Grangemouth Stags RFC  14 - 27  Newton Stewart RFC

 The Stags crashed to a 2nd successive home defeat at the hands of Newton Stewart after a truly dismal second half performance. The home side started brightly playing into the strong wind and controlled the possession for the opening quarter but without threatening the visitor’s line. After 25 minutes good play by the backs saw Forbes held up just short of the line but the chance was lost. It was therefore something of a surprise when Newton Stewart opened the scoring. A loose kick by stand off Campbell from inside his 22 and in to the strong wind, was easily fielded by the borderers full back who ran across the field before floating a pass to his winger, who raced in to the corner for an unconverted try.

However, Grangemouth hit back before half time with a well worked try of their own. Good sustained continuity from backs and forwards saw Forbes make a break from just inside his own half, and when he was stopped just short of the line, his inside pass found the ever willing Hayes on his shoulder who scored beneath the posts. Campbell kicked the simple conversion to give the Stags a 7 – 5 half time lead.

With the strong wind at their backs in the second half the local side should have taken control of the game. However they produced 20 minutes of uncontrolled and scrappy rugby to allow the visitors to score three unanswered tries which sealed the game and realistically, their fate in the league relegation battle. Firstly, direct from the restart, Grangemouth regained the ball but were then turned over at the break down to allow the visiting centre to run in from 60 metres for a converted try. As the opposition were about to touch down to score, Hayes was deservedly yellow carded for a poor attempted tackle on the scorer. Down to 14 men the home side needed to regroup and calm things down but were immediately back under pressure when the kick off went straight into touch. Within another couple of minutes a missed tackle allowed the full back to score an unconverted try in the corner, outstripping the home defence out wide once again. Five minutes later the visitors drove a lineout and the scrum half burst up the touchline and when he was bravely held up the ball was passed along the line for the winger to step inside the cover for a try.

Newton Stewart then defended well, absorbing the sporadic pressure until the last 5 minutes when finally good hands allowed McIntyre to score and Campbell to convert the tricky extras. However, the visitors had the final say when the scrum half made another break from a lineout and was this time rewarded with a try. Final score 14 – 27. There is no doubt that the sin binning of Hayes, a key figure at full back, and on song until his misdemeanour, contributed to the collapse as two tries were scored in his absence. But this was a team that will have walked off the park knowing that this game was there for the winning and could have been a major stepping stone in the battle for survival. It is true to say that the lineout and scrums were functioning well, but the defence let the side down with missed tackles and opposition not picked up in creating overlaps. It was clear that many of the players had given up the cause in the final 20 minutes as the reality dawned on them what was the outcome of this match, and discipline started to slip out of frustration and fatigue.

This was the last home game of the season for the Stags, and although it is perhaps too early with three away games remaining to write the obituary, this loss should be enough to seal a further relegation for the embattled club. Sitting in the Premier Division 2 only 5 seasons ago, successive relegations (except for one season of stability in National 1) has seen the club now on the brink of National Division 3. Requiring 15 points from their remaining 3 fixtures, Grangemouth need to win all their remaining fixtures with a bonus in each for scoring 4 tries. Possible, but a miracle is needed at Glensburgh over the coming weeks.