Grimsby 18 Coalville 14
A Rare win by Grimsby Rugby Club seems to have come too late to save them from the drop. The Blues battled to an 18-14 victory over Coalville at Springfield Road but remain six points from safety with just four games left in Midlands Three East (North). It was a stop-start affair as the whistle-happy referee did his best to kill any flowing rugby by either side.Overnight snow had got the more dedicated - or foolish - players up early to sweep the pitch, only for the snow to have melted by 2.30pm.
But it showed the Blues' desire to notch a third win of the campaign. They started the strongest, enjoying a lot of possession and clean line-out ball. But slow ruck ball and a lack of strike running from deep meant the visitors had plenty of time to organise and constrict the attacks. Blues' pressure produced a penalty, which fly half Lee Spall scored to make it 3-0. Then the visitors enjoyed some territory, forcing a penalty of their own after 20 minutes. Grimsby did their best to keep the ball alive as they tried to up the pace. Scrum-half Shane Lowery got possession on the Coalville 22-metre line and powered forward. He went through five tackles, not needing the support of a screaming Dan Evans, to score an excellent try. Spall's kick made it 10-3, before the Blues started to concede silly penalties. A shoulder charge from Spall made matters worse, as he was sin-binned, and it wasn't long before Coalville took advantage of their extra man to score a mauled try. The kick was missed. Spall's absence saw captain Ben Pharaoh step in at 10 for a self-confessed, less-than-impressive cameo.
Grimsby knew they would have to perform in the second half, but they started poorly. A silly penalty straight away put Coalville 11-10 in front and a hand in the scrum from flanker Gavin Kempthorne - in front of the referee - allowed the visitors' to move to 14-10. The Blues showed some good off-loading and handling, but were struggling to get out of their own half. And as the clock ticked away, they continued to defend resolutely, knowing they needed one chance to seal the win. A run from Pharaoh ended in a spear tackle from the visitors' flanker and it was his turn for a yellow card and 10 minutes on the touch-line. The resulting penalty allowed Spall to get the Blues back in touch, then with five minutes to go a line-out catch from number eight Mike Newman, and drive, gave Kempthorne his chance to make amends for the earlier penalty. The open-side sneaked round the back of the maul, shot away down the blind-side, beat two tacklers and touched down for the try. Spall's attempt at the wide kick was close, but missed. There was just enough time for a few heart-stopping attacks from Coalville, but after a superb line-out steal from Newman and his lifters, substitute scrum-half Darren Daly cleared to touch and triggered the final whistle.