Mannerians 24 Grimsby 17

Mannerians 1st XV 24pts Grimsby 1st XV 17pts

With the world on the cusp of panic about coronavirus, until the eleventh hour it was debatable whether this fixture would have to be played behind closed doors – or indeed whether it would be played at all. But in the end the IRB gave the go-ahead and the fans that braved an afternoon at Shutts Lane were treated to a bruising, pulsating encounter – and a remarkable Mannerian performance.

With three late withdrawals, Coach Ben Wade elected not to call up replacements and instead put his faith in the fifteen men standing. What a decision it proved to be. From the start Mannerians tore into the team several places above them in the table, and astute kicking from skipper Will Moroney kept Grimsby on the back foot. Quick hands from Tom Bell, George Smith and Jayden Law soon made space for the pacy Dan Barratt to open the scoring wide out on the right wing.

The visitors struck back after good work from their enterprising young fly half gave them a close range line out and the chance to drive over; then a quick second followed as Grimsby won a lung-busting kick and chase. At 5-10 things might have looked ominous for Wade’s numerically depleted men in previous weeks, but the pack turned on the power.

Back from a three-week intensive training and mindfulness course with the Dalai Lama, props Ben Furness and Charles Cone were in pristine condition and led Mannerians to become dominant at the scrum. Jimmy O’Neill, restored at hooker on a break from paternity leave, slipped effortlessly into the groove throwing in, and Rod Bell, at the tender age of 60, allegedly, finally found his true calling in the second row. A series of scrums and lineouts and precision game-management from Moroney led to an irresistible driving maul, and Ben Clarke, in the form of his life, crashed over to score. The skipper’s conversion saw his side edge into the lead as the teams turned around.

The Mannerian pack continued to dominate the much-vaunted Grimsby eight, and the second half was only minutes old when scrum half Tom Bell scampered over under the posts, with Moroney making it 19-10 in the home side’s favour. A churlish reporter might have questioned the grounding of Grimsby’s third try, but nevertheless the conversion brought the visitors right back into contention – only two points separating the sides. And while Grimsby could bring on three sets of fresh legs, Mannerians could only dig deeper into their grit and character.

Initially it was all about defence. The cover tackling of youngsters Connor Longson, Law and Smith was straight out of the Tom Curry mould, and there was suddenly a sense that Grimsby were going to be shut out. Furness and Cone were so finely tuned that an 80 minute stint looked a certainty, and back row stars John Everitt and Will Brocklehurst were simply everywhere, ably abetted by the increasingly burly Clarke. A soaring Brocklehurst edged a Grimsby lineout, and veteran workhorse Paul Boon secured the ball on the floor. Scrum half Bell found Moroney, who slipped the ball to Smith, and his long pass was gathered by Ed Farmilo – normally a prop, today deployed effectively on the wing. Farmilo bopped off his opposite man, Everitt was in support, and Bell swept in for his second.

The remainder of the game saw Mannerians defend further and further up the field, and the tackling was simply magnificent. If Grimsby did manage to break the line then Law, Smith or Longson would haul them down, and the pack would swarm around to clean things up. Brocklehurst, Everitt and Clarke snaffled everything on the ground, and O’Neill and Rod Bell put in an astonishing amount of unsung work. The last play saw Grimsby burst away – and a try looked possible – but inevitably their flying prop was hauled to the ground, and looked to have sustained a nasty injury as the final whistle blew in the 82nd minute.

It was a euphoric President, Jim Hollingworth, that greeted the victorious Mannerians from the field. “That was simply awesome, from one to fifteen,” said Hollingworth, as he pondered the mud stains on his jeans and wondered how on earth he’d got to Shutts Lane after a busy night out with Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock just twelve hours before. “And in Rod I think the club has finally found a successor to me and Denzil in the second row.”

The debate about Man of the Match (or Player of the Match if you are reading on the BBC) will probably still be raging well into the Manners night – and in truth it could have gone to any of the team. Strong nominations were made for the Bells, Law, Smith and Everitt – but in the end the match sponsors, The Barrel at Bretton, gave it to a well-deserving skipper. Mr and Mrs Moroney will enjoy some fine hospitality at The Barrel as their guest in the not too distant future.

Team: Longson; Barratt, Law, Smith, Farmilo; Moroney (c), Bell T; Furness, O’Neill, Cone, Boon, Bell R, Clarke, Brocklehurst, Everitt

Scorers:
Tries: Bell T (2), Barratt, Clarke
Cons: Moroney (2)