West Bridgeford 7 Grimsby 41
The 2 nd league fixture of the season saw Grimsby travel to West Bridgeford , it was with some trepidation that the Blues made the journey, as Bridgeford have a reputation of being almost unbeatable in their home ground stronghold. Upon arrival it soon became obvious that this was no longer true, as the ground was more akin to a building site than a rugby pitch, necessitating a switch to a local park, with Grimsby almost expecting to be playing with jumpers for goalposts!!
With the return of several more established players, and also the league debut of Kevin Dufton, Grimsby were keen to start strongly and set their mark on the game. This was to be exactly what was to happen. A nicely executed rehearsed move saw Thomas streak through the defensive line to score under the posts, without a hand being laid upon him. Daly converted the easy kick.
As Bridgeford kicked off, the visiting forwards can only describe as dillied and dallied, allowing Bridgeford to reclaim the ball, and set up a series of tight drives, attempting to break through the Blue wall of shirts. Grimsby 's defence held firm, and forcing an error, a scrum was awarded to the visitors. A nice scrum saw Bradley given the ball with plenty of time to spare, and a lovely kick saw Bridgeford sent packing to the other end of the pitch. A well contested lineout saw Bridgeford take possession and start to spin the ball out amongst their back line. Unfortunately the ball got to the number 13 at the same time as his opposite number, and a massive hit from Dufton saw the ball spilled and turned over. Quickly moving the ball well, the Grimsby backs forced deep into the Bridgeford 22, before a neat inside pass from Bradley allowed Slosmanis to charge through the remaining players to score under the posts. Bradley converted, 14-0 in just 10 minutes.
The home side were obviously shocked to be down so quickly, but didn't seem capable of striking back themselves. Grimsby continued to pressurise and gradually worked their way back into the Bridgeford 22. A strong run from Thomas saw the veteran centre carry at least 4 players over the line with him, to score a nice piece of individual skill from such an elderly member of the squad. The conversion was missed.
Grimsby appeared to go off the boil, as initial reservations as to the ability of the opposition were laid to rest, and a piece of sloppy play allowed the Bridgeford centre to intercept a poor pass and race away to score under the posts. The conversion was successful, and Grimsby had received a well warranted boot up the backside!
The next score was a combination of good individual skill, luck and good support play. Pharaoh was able to take possession inside his own half, and proceeded to speed away from any covering defence, with just the full back to beat and options either side, the feisty half back decided to go alone, and when the fullback managed to stop him, only the rapid assistance from his support allowed the ball to be spread wide, where Bradley gladly touched down for the points. Again showing the fruits of a summers hard training the nifty number 10 managed to add the extra points.
The first half drew to a close and Grimsby took the opportunity to swap a few players about, with both Newman and Cairns coming on to play their first competitive games of the season.
The 2 nd half started with Grimsby again doing all the playing, but for some reason play kept breaking down with forwards passes and knock-ons occurring with far too great a frequency. Bridgeford tried to rally, but strong defensive efforts from Martin, Pharaoh and Dufton soon put paid to that notion. The first score of the half was to come from the fleet feet of Stringer, playing his last game for the club before leaving the club to undertake a degree in Alcohol Studies at university. Nice hands from Bradley and Cairns saw Stringer put into space, and after rounding his opposite number, the full back had no chance as Stringer dived in at the corner. The tricky conversion was missed.
Bridgeford again attempted to drag themselves back into the game, at one point actually getting into the Grimsby 22. Unfortunately, the visiting pack were in no mood to allow this impudence to go unpunished. Each time Bridgeford tried to break through, excellent cover defence held them at bay, and any scrums awarded to the home side were soon turned over as the superior technique of the Blues forced them backwards at a rate of knots.
After Bridgeford had had their turn, and come away without success, it was to be Grimsbys turn. Good pressure allowed Grimsby to be award a series of scrums close to the Bridgeford line. Unfortunately, poor control at the back of the scrum prevented a simple push over try. Despite this, the backs managed to put together a fluid movement, allowing Bradley to dance his way through to score his 2 nd of the match. The conversion was missed.
With the game now coming to a close, it was to be the forwards who ended the game with the final score. A series of drives saw both Slosmanis and Barker come close, before a quick pass saw Edwards charge on 5 metres out. Unable to break through the last line, Grimsbys Captain Inspiration popped up a lovely pass for Barker to take on and sprint the last metre to the line before flallompfing over the line. As the conversion attempt drifted wide, the match official blew for full time.
This was an off-key performance from Grimsby , who didn't pay with the fluency and continuity that has come to be expected. However, 2 wins from 2 is a more than satisfying result so far.
This week the team travels to Wolverhampton for the 1 st round of the Powergen Intermediate Cup, as after last years great cup run, Grimsby have been promoted into the next tier of the Powergen competitions.