Grimsby 18 Leamington 13
It was with some trepidation that Grimsby faced Midlands 2 outfit Leamington in the 3 rd round of the Powergen Intermediate Cup, with an untested front row, and due to a last minute no show a hastily installed fly half, but with every member digging deep a memorable victory was recorded with Grimsby moving into the 4 th round for the first time in the competition. As Leamington wear a blue strip, Grimsby took the opportunity to unveil their new black change strip, kindly provided by kit sponsors Five Star Fish and Wincanton.
Leamington initially appeared to be the better drilled side, with an impressive warm up routine consisting of plenty of synchronised shouts amusing the home side. One real threat was their fly half, who was seen practising his goal kicking and slotting them from everywhere. However, it was to be the presence of Zak Bradley on the sideline which would eventually sway the game for the home side, with the injured fly half giving his team mates important advice which made all the difference. Shouts such as run faster or the tactically astute tackle helped Grimsby during times of indecision.
From the start of the game, Grimsby came the better in all physical encounters, however a few silly mistakes ensured that the one thing they didn't want to do give penalties in their own half, happened. Twice in quick succession the Leamington 10 kicked the ball through the uprights to take a 6 point lead. Despite being disheartened, Grimsby upped their game, and started to dominate, particularly in the scrum where the front row of Martin, Edwards and making his debut Price-Saleh were running amok amongst their opponents. Unfortunately, as a Leamington player kicked to clear, the match official adjudicated that Price-Saleh had attempted to trip him, and despite no contact being made, the Welshman was given a red and dismissed. This was disaster for Grimsby , only 20 minutes into the game, losing 6-0 and down to 14 men! In the past such a set of circumstances would have seen the home side fold, but not nowadays. Captain Edwards astutely rearranged his team, moving Norman into the front row, and the team dug in.
Every time Leamington attacked through their forwards, the back row slammed the door shut on them, and with the rest of the pack driving through every ruck and maul, the ball was turned over on many an occasion. The backs were also having the best of it, fly half Kempthorne Jnr was able to slice through his man in attack and cut him in half in defence. This enthusiasm was contagious and led to all the back line defending like demons. The pressure eventually told, with Leamington being forced into conceding a penalty in their 22. Fullback Saunders was able to slot the points.
The first try scored was to be from Grimsby , after good hands moved the ball wide, a nice kick from Thomas saw the Leamington gather the ball on his 5 metre line just as the combined might of Pharaoh, Stringer and Thomas arrived to drive him back over the try line, rob the ball and touch down for the try. Several pairs of hands claimed the score, but the touchdown was eventually awarded to Stringer, making a guest appearance for the day. Saunders was unable to convert.
This obviously rattled Leamington , and as Grimsby pressed again deep into their 22, the Leamington 8 deliberately killed the ball just as it looked like Grimsby would score again. The ref reached into his pocket and pulled out not a plumb, but a yellow card, so the teams were back on even numbers. Despite this Grimsby were unable to press their advantage and score another try, even though Burke clearly touched down, but the ensuing pile-on meant the ref was unable to give it!
Leamington were able to clear their lines, and after a couple of long kicks, a hack through and a blatant knock on, they were able to touch down in the corner to record a try. The difficult conversion was successful by their impressive kicker, and as the ref blew for half time, the visitors were leading 8-13.
The 2 nd half started much as the first had finished, with Grimsby in command, but Leamington sporadically venturing into Grimsby territory. From one such foray, and just as Leamington had regained full strength, a mighty clearance kick from the shy and retiring Pharaoh resulted in an extremely late tackle on the plucky fellow. The referee should good consistency, whipping out his red one to once again reduce Leamington to 14. This was an added bonus as the guilty player was the Leamington prop, meaning both front rows were ramshackle affairs.
Grimsby now started to play their best rugby of the game, with the forwards playing especially well. Quickly recycled ball was taken on at pace, with Martin and Burke not always running straight but always making ground. The scrum became a place on pain for Leamington, who were relentlessly driven back, putting their teeny-weeny scrum half under no end of pressure, with Slosmanis and Davis both taking a great deal of enjoyment from scragging him time and time again.
The next score came from powerful running from the forwards, quick distribution from Pharaoh and good positional play from the referee! Martin was able to take the ball on, charge at the defenders and reach through and dot the ball down on the line just! On the line is over the line in rugby, and the referee was fortunately in a good position to see the grounding and award the try. Saunders proved he had forgotten his kicking boots by missing the kick.
As the hard working Grimsby side started to tire, new, younger legs were needed so a tactical substitution of Holt and Kempthorne Snr were introduced for the geriatric pairing of Burke and Davis. Fortunately this had no effect on the game, with both players fitting in seamlessly and Grimsby continued to dominate. Leamington were starting to panic, having come to Springfield Rd expecting only to have to turn up to thump the more junior side, they had met a mighty resistance, and were now clinging on for cup survival. Grimsby still had work to do, as in a cup fixture a draw is a win for the visiting side.
Knowing this Grimsby dug even deeper, and their tackling intensity increased even more. A dangerous looking attack in the Grimsby 22 was snuffed out by a double tackle from Thomas and a member of the back row, before the ball was whisked away and Leamington once again found themselves trapped in their 22. The final nail in Leamington 's coffin came from a Leamington scrum 5 metres out. The Grimsby front 5 gave a mighty drive, and forced Leamington back over their line and turned the ball over. Slosmanis stealthily crept from flanker to his customary 8 position and controlled the ball before dotting it down for the points. Saunders once again missed the kick.
As the game moved into the last minutes, Grimsby took a stranglehold on the game, and retained possession. From a scrum, and realising the referees time piece was sounding for the final play of the match, Pharaoh kicked into touch and Grimsby had won!!
The large crowd went wild as the Grimsby players celebrated an epic win. This was a superb result, especially after 2 losses and a last minute cancellation. Grimsby showed good bouncebackability, something important as they move onto Belgrave away this weekend in the League
The 4 th round sees all the remaining Midlands and North teams amalgamating, with Grimsby being the lowest placed team in terms of League level.
Grimsby have been drawn to face Market Bosworth at Springfield Rd on November 27th . Bosworth are currently 3 rd in Midlands 2 so it will be a big challenge.