Belgrave 34 Grimsby 3
County colt Joel Carr came back from the rugby wilderness and was plunged straight into the coal-face of Grimsby Rugby Football Club's first team. The burly prop has been away for two years and, just two days after his come-back training session, he was propping in the Blues front row. "It's like I've never been away," Carr joked."No, it was a tough game and I was blowing at the end but it's good to be playing again." Grimsby took a bare 15 down to Belgrave after late withdrawals and a reluctance to travel again hit the struggling Midlands Three East (North) side. Hooker Taff Hopkins stepped in for his first senior game in six years and prop Paul Brittain was forced to cover in the second row.
The Blues were on the back foot straight away in what was a brave performance for a much-changed outfit. They held out against the pressure and the pack were putting up a fight in the scrum, but soon the cracks started to appear. A charged-down kick from the boot of left-wing Luke Chaplin resulted in the first try for Belgrave, who are the Blues' only league scalp this season. At 10-0 the Blues managed to find some territory. From a clean lineout, inside centre Dan Evans burst on to a short pass from fly-half Darren Daly and broke through the midfield. But as he tried to beat the Belgrave full-back, he failed to use his support and the Blues had to settle for three points from Dale from the ensuing penalty - their only points. The Blues struggled to make a solid platform all game. And in the first half, especially, knock-ons and missed tackles kept setting the visitors back. A tight and powerful maul from Belgrave created the second try and a kick and chase over Chaplin made it three.
A heated second half saw several scuffles as Grimsby started to play with more passion. But Belgrave's big runners and wily pack continued to punch holes and increase their points tally. Once the rough stuff started, Grimsby got back into the game and dominated the last 10 minutes. Some strong runs from winger James Bowen, centre Ben Pharaoh and scrum-half Shane Lowery put pressure on Belgrave. But phase after phase was stopped on the Belgrave line and they held out without conceding a try. At the final whistle Carr and the rest of the pack were still standing, having put up as stern as resistance as they could until a shoulder injury to prop Mark Wilkinson weakened the scrum for the last quarter.