Grimsby II 66 Bridlington II 5
Grimsby Rugby Football Club bounced back from a dismal few weeks with a double whammy last Saturday. Bolstered by a handful of first-teamers, the second XV battered Bridlington 66-5, while the third string won 24-15 away to Lincoln. Nippy fly-half Darren Daly commanded the game with a series of slicing breaks sandwiching deft kicks and accurate passes. Of the 10 conversions he attempted only two went astray, one just the width of the bar away from adding another two to his 21-point tally. After a kick and enthusiastic chase from hooker Greg Robson penned Bridlington back early on, the Blues number two emerged with the ball a few minutes later and bounded over the line for the opening score. The Grimsby pack out-muscled their opponents from the whistle, shoving them off scrums and ripping the ball back at the breakdown.
Powerful running from number eight Jan Slosmanis and the evergreen Nigel Kempthorne struck fear into the visitors and they never recovered. Just a week after he played his last game for the first team, Kempthorne rolled back the years to score two tries, while Slosmanis went over for a score in the second period. Police officer Mark Summersell joined the boys in blue for his debut at second row. He settled in well but after 18 months away from the game he decided half-time would be a good time for 'arrest'.
Excellent conditions and a firm pitch allowed the home side to open up once the big and experienced pack had softened up the Yorkshire visitors. Getting more ball as the game went on, the Blues backs started to put some attractive rugby together, pulling Bridlington across the pitch. First team captain Ben Pharaoh came off the bench with 20 minutes to go and took advantage of some tired legs to run in two scores in just a handful of touches. Right wing Luke Aisthorpe opened his account for the season when he ran in after another crisp passage of play by the home side. Also returning to the fold was back-rower Ronnie Holt, who chipped in with a brace of touch-downs.
Second team captain Ian MacDonald said: "It was a really solid performance from a team that has yet to get consistency in its ranks due to injuries."The club is looking for new players of any standard to join and anyone is welcome to come training on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm at Springfield Road."We'll have a much-changed team on Saturday but on the back of a result like this, I'm confident we can get another win."
The Pavilion, Springfield Road, Scartho, Grimsby, NE Lincs, DN33 3JF