Skegness 15 Grimsby 66
Grimsby Rugby Club 3rds hammered sorry Skegness, crossing for 10 tries in a 60-point demolition. The Blues scored 33 points without reply with first 14, then 13 men in the second half. Allan Oliver touched down four times before putting his feet up - the haul marked his welcome return from injury after breaking a leg. As the offending leg stiffened up, with 10 minutes to go, he left the pitch with the Blues' drinks orders ringing in his ears.
Centre pairing Gavin Kempthorne and Nathan Price-Saleh grabbed two tries apiece. And number eight Nick Purewal had the first and last word to round off the rout. Skegness sportingly loaned Grimsby their sub to even the sides for the first half. And hats off to the 60-year-old who filled the Grimsby void, before swapping teams as Skegness' spare man at the turnaround. Opening the scoring, Purewal raced onto an inside ball on the left flank to canter home from the 10-metre line. The score undercut fractious early exchanges as both sides scrapped for supremacy. And the Blues could count themselves lucky when Oliver bossed broken play to extend the frail lead. Makeshift centre Price-Saleh pushed the early pace further, making light work of weak midfield defence to stroll over. And Kempthorne's tight lines helped him crash over from the 10-metre-line. Sloppy errors saw Skegness grapple a foothold on the contest, pegging back the Blues just as they looked on course for total dominance. Oliver's second try was countered by three Skegness scores.
As the half-time whistle sounded, the 27-15 scoreline kept the home side in contention. The Blues survived a potential turning point straight after the break. With the home side gunning for parity, and the Blues a player light, Kempthorne crossed the line, looking to secure the lead. But he was penalised for a forearm smash moments before he dotted down. No try, and a penalty to Skegness. Villain turned hero moments later, however, as Kempthorne chased fly-half Craig Knight's clever grubber kick. With two defenders chasing, the centre was first to the ball to touch down and atone for his earlier rush of blood. As Skegness heads dropped, a glut of points followed. Price-Saleh added his second before Oliver notched his third and fourth. In the last action, the seven-man Blues pack drove the home side off the ball, Purewal picked up and stepped the fly-half, finding enough gas to go in under the posts. Scrum half Jones posted his fifth conversion to round off the score.