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PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS  10  v  DMPRFC  34

PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS 10 v DMPRFC 34

Kevin Robinson26 Oct 2013 - 22:53
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Convincing first half forward performance lays down the foundations for another bonus point win (Match report attached)

It was the forwards in the first half who paved the way for this bonus point win at the Lightfoot Green HQ of Preston Grasshoppers RFC.

With the hosts boasting a 10 game unbeaten home record stretching back to February, the visitors were keen to underline their form, which has seen them unbeaten in six league games since the opening day reversal at Macclesfield.

Still missing some key players who continue to struggle with injuries, the 1ST XV squad is currently having its resilience tested and to date, fortunes have been favourable.

The fortunes continued at Lightfoot Green, as apart from a spirited fight back after oranges, the home side never looked like controlling any aspect of what was an interesting game for many different reasons.

Penalty tries, yellow cards and a replacement referee, all added to the mix, on a day when rain was expected, but never materialised until after the final whistle.

It was the home side who registered first on the scoreboard, when DMPRFC were adjudged to be offside in midfield. The kick was successful and ‘Hoppers’ took the lead for the first and last time (3 – 0).

Prior to this penalty after five minutes, DMPRFC had plenty of possession, however chose to give the home full back plenty of catching practice, with several aimless kicks, which only managed to allow the home side to run the ball back and look dangerous.

DMPRFC responded to the penalty in kind, when this time the home midfield were adjudged offside by the official, allowing stand-off Grant CONNON to level two minutes later from thirty yards (3 – 3).

From then on until oranges, DMPRFC forwards took the game to ‘Hoppers’, dominating the scrum and maul, although the home side did have some possession from their own lineout.

After a further four minutes, Grant CONNON weaved his way into the heart of the home defence and when the scoring pass to Josh BAYFORD was made, before the prop could receive the ball, he was tackled without it, with the referee adjudging a try was prevented and therefore awarding a penalty try under the posts (3 – 8).

The conversion was easy for Grant CONNON (3 – 10), but a couple of minutes later, the stand-off found himself falling foul of the official, when he was sin-binned for tackling without using his arms, 10 minutes being his punishment.

The visiting forwards continued to dominate the exchanges and no sooner had DMPRFC lost a player, then the home hooker followed for persistent infringements, levelling the numbers.

There was some disruption in the home ranks as reshuffles were the order of the day in order to facilitate a hooker at scrum time, however, the changes wouldn’t have stopped the visiting forwards from continuing their ascendancy up front.

In the absence of Grant CONNON, full back Henry ROBINSON took over the kicking duties, when ‘Hoppers’ were penalised at the scrum, with the same positive result (3 – 13).

More DMPRFC points came from a catch and drive from a lineout, when the visitors shunted the home pack back at a rate of knots, with industrious flanker Jack ALLCOCK touching down (3 – 18).

Henry ROBINSON was again successful with the extras (3 – 20), as DMPRFC began to pull away.

Next to score was skipper Cameron MITCHELL who silky skills were sufficient to glide around the home full back, after good work from both the forwards and the backs in creating some space (3 – 25).

With Grant CONNON restored to the field of play, he claimed the extras (3 – 27).

So as the break for oranges arrived, the game might have been classed as ‘in the bag’, but so often this attitude leads to complacency and the visitors were not going to fall for that.

However, on the restart, with ‘Hoppers’ having brought on a couple of replacements, they ‘threw caution to the wind’ and tried to up their game. This perhaps coincided with a slight loss of concentration on the part of DMPRFC and as a result they conceded a converted try (10 – 27).

DMPRFC flanker Jack ALLCOCK ‘cooled’ for ten minutes and DMPRFC upped their defensive duties, preventing the home side from scoring further.

At about 55 minutes, the referee had to leave the field of play due to an emergency of a domestic nature, which bizarrely coincided with a ‘Hoppers’ player being knocked out and another being sin-binned for alleged retaliation.

The senior referee’s assistant took over the officiating and a home connection took over as an assistant. The player who had been knocked out was strangely allowed to continue, but still ‘Hoppers’ were down in numbers.

DMPRFC introduced changes of their own and from a series of penalties and warnings, due to the home forwards illegally pulling down the catch and drive from lineouts, a penalty try was awarded, as they continued to transgress ( 10 – 32). Grant CONNON added the extras (10 – 34).

The final whistle blew five minutes later, bringing what had been an eventful game to an end and a deserving bonus point win to DMPRFC.

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