Loughborough 27 Grimsby 26
Grimsby Rufc first XV were denied at the death in a thrilling first game of the season at Loughborough. Leading with only minutes left, they went behind to a penalty and then, agonisingly, missed one of their own as the clock ticked down. Right from the off this was a tall order for Grimsby. Several key players had retired from the club, including the club captain, and last-minute unavailability had meant reshuffle after reshuffle. Ben Pharaoh, club captain two seasons ago, was asked to step in and skipper the side for the season. So it was his job, along with first team manager Nigel Kempthorne and new Director of Rugby John Waudby, to steady the ship for the start of the season. This was a thoroughly entertaining game as the standard of rugby, given the soaring temperatures, was high. What was even more remarkable from the Grimsby team was that this was the first time some of the team had played together.
The first 20 minutes belonged to the home side, who were by far the more organised from the start. But they met with stiff resistance from Grimsby. Loughborough scored the first try, unconverted, after five minutes as Grimsby, playing in their black change strip, simply ran out of defenders. This spurred Grimsby on for their first try in what turned out to be a tit-for-tat scoring game. Constant good rucking and support allowed Dellus West to find a gap to sneak through. He was brought down short and from the ensuing ruck, Pharaoh spotted space on the blind side and fed Shane Lowery, who in turn found hooker James Martin and he crashed over in the corner. The home side answered back with another well-worked try and Grimsby replied with an individual effort. Scrum-half and captain Pharaoh broke from a ruck 40 metres out, went through the defence and then side-stepped the full back to score under the posts. The conversion was added by Darren Daly. A couple of penalties were exchanged before the half-time whistle. Notable first-half performances came from Tom Montague and Martin, a menace carrying the ball, the entire Grimsby back division, Gavin Kempthorne in particular, in defence, and from Joe Davies at open-side - a constant thorn in the home team's side.
A reorganisation brought on Kempthorne snr into the Grimsby pack and the stalwart of Springfield Road bagged a brace in the second half.
The first came from a wonderful team move. West made the break, Pharaoh and Davies were first to it and Kempthorne jnr fed Mark Wilkinson, whose slight of hand made space for Kempthorne snr to thunder over in the corner. His second came from a quick piece of thinking. He took a quick tap penalty and, before the defence could organise itself, squeezed over out wide, with Daly adding the conversion from a tight angle. These scores were interspersed with well-worked tries from Loughborough, who, with five minutes to go and Grimsby leading by two, secured a penalty in the Grimsby 22. This was converted to give them the lead by a point. With the clock ticking, Grimsby were awarded a penalty just inside their own half, a good 50 yards from goal. Daly stepped up and the kick drifted inches wide.
Both teams played their part in a good, free-flowing game and Grimsby, with all the late changes, should not lose heart from this performance. Players from the lower ranks of the club stepped in late on and their performances were magnificent.
The Pavilion, Springfield Road, Scartho, Grimsby, NE Lincs, DN33 3JF