WEST of Scotland coach John Beattie admitted he was almost embarrassed at the manner in which his young guns demolished County – and spoiled Jocky Bryce's big day into the bargain.
Bryce was married in the Bridgehaugh clubhouse within half an hour of the final whistle, and as he and the new Mrs Bryce left for their honeymoon, it was clear that West's own honeymoon period in the top flight is still going strong.
Of the nine-
try romp, a subdued Beattie said: "If I am honest, it doesn't feel right to come and take 50 points off a great club like Stirling County. But we did play really well and I thought Roddy Grant in particular was outstanding."
Honours were pretty even in the opening half-hour, although Conor Davis was denied a try after he was adjudged to have knocked on while picking up his own kick ahead. Brian Archibald also missed a 45-metre penalty for County.
After half an hour, the floodgates opened, Graham Fisken touching down after a series of drives from the visiting pack finally broke the Stirling defence. Archibald landed a penalty soon after but Andy Park collected Davis' kick for West's second try. Quick handling from Elliot McLaren allowed Guy Perrett to add a third score before half-time.
McLaren himself began a second-half onslaught with the first of his two tries, while Davis, Alex Fisken and Colin Duck also crossed. Park also doubled his own personal try tally, giving West the Hamish Logan trophy.
County head coach Ian Jardine said: "West played well and fair credit to them. We thought we could have put pressure on them but didn't do it. West used the wind well and their forwards caused real problems for us in the tight."
Bryce added: "I am bitterly disappointed. We have our backs to the wall and we are going to have to dig deep now."
Scorers. Stirling County: Pen: Archibald. West of Scotland: Tries: G Fisken, Park 2, Perrett, McLaren 2, Davis, A Fisken, Duck. Cons: Horne 4.
Stirling County: B Archibald; G Lyndsay, J Hope, D Gilmour, R Aitken; R McGowan, A Robertson; R Logan, A Moffat, W Davies, B MacFarlane, G Gilchrist, C Eadie, C Deacons, K Bryce. Subs used: P Wilson, A Ratuva, A Simpson, J Graham, D Jackson.
West of Scotland: P Horne; A Park, D Young, I Keith, S Malone; C Davis, C Duck; J Welsh, G Bulloch, E McLaren, G Perrett, R Gray, B Pirie, G Fisken, R Grant. Subs used: D McKenna, S Carmichael, A Kennedy, M Sim, A Fisken.
Referee: A McMenemy.
The full article contains 447 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
