SCUNTHORPE 38 – HULL RUFC 24
After the announcement that Scunthorpe’s season start had been postponed by a further couple of weeks, all eyes turned to the local derby against Hull. With a new coaching setup in place for the first time in 19 years, both players and coaches were eager to begin the campaign with a statement victory.
Having both suffered relegation last season, Scunthorpe and Hull entered the contest determined to prove a point and begin their push for an immediate return to National League 2.
Scunthorpe’s starting XV featured a front row of Dylan Martin, Matthew Mason and Kane Linklater, with Daniel Longden and captain Grant Elliott locking the scrum. Marcus Payne, Rory Rendall-Tyrell and James Dyson completed the forward pack.
In the backs, Joey Mowbray returned at scrum-half alongside Ethan Taylor at fly-half. Jack Murr and Will Dark partnered in the centres, while Lewis Talbot, Josh Lugsden and Ethan Heath-Drury formed the back three.
The replacements bench consisted of Alfie Taylor, Will Dale, Cam Christer, Jack Leggate and Coel Gosling.
First Half
Hull opened the scoring early in the contest. Following a penalty conceded by Scunthorpe close to their own line, Hull recycled possession from a set-piece move. An out-the-back pass found the fly-half, who stepped through the rushing defence before diving over for the opening try. The conversion was added to give Hull a 7-0 lead.
Scunthorpe responded well. After Hull conceded a penalty, the home side kicked for the corner and executed the lineout perfectly. The resulting maul drove relentlessly towards the try line, and Marcus Payne eventually grounded the ball for Scunthorpe’s first try of the season. Will Dark added the conversion to level the scores.
The home side then took the lead in near-identical fashion. Another Hull penalty allowed Scunthorpe to kick deep into the corner. The lineout was secured and, although the maul was halted just short, captain Grant Elliott powered over to score. Dark again converted, making it 14-7.
Hull hit back after Scunthorpe conceded a series of penalties inside their own 22. Sustained pressure eventually created space out wide, allowing the Hull winger to dive over in the corner. The conversion was missed, leaving Scunthorpe narrowly ahead at 14-12.
The hosts extended their advantage through Joey Mowbray. After several strong forward carries took Scunthorpe close to the line, the scrum-half spotted a gap around the ruck and sniped over for the score. The conversion drifted wide, pushing the score to 19-12.
Hull had the final say of the half. A sharp break from their scrum-half split the defence before he drew the remaining defenders and offloaded to the fly-half, who crossed unopposed. The conversion was successful, reducing the deficit to just two points at the break.
Half-time: Scunthorpe 19-17 Hull
Second Half
Scunthorpe started the second half brightly and were first to score after the restart. Good work from Ethan Taylor created space, allowing Ethan Heath-Drury to break through the Hull defence. With Scunthorpe keeping the ball alive through several phases near the line, substitute Alfie Taylor eventually crashed over. The conversion was successful, giving Scunthorpe a 26-17 advantage.
Hull responded shortly afterwards. A line break through midfield opened up space and a well-judged kick ahead caused problems for the home defence. The Hull winger won the race to the ball and touched down, the successful conversion cut Scunthorpe’s lead back to just two points.
The home side soon regained control. James Dyson broke the defensive line before producing an excellent offload to Ethan Taylor on his inside shoulder. The fly-half collected the pass and raced under the posts for Scunthorpe’s fifth try of the afternoon. The conversion was added, extending the lead to 33-24.
Scunthorpe’s final score came courtesy of James Dyson. Receiving possession in midfield, he sold a convincing dummy, spotted a gap in the defensive line and accelerated through before diving over for the final try of the match. The conversion was unsuccessful, but the result was all but secured.
With neither side able to add further points during the closing stages, the referee brought proceedings to an end.
Full-time: Scunthorpe 38-24 Hull
Mom- Marcus Payne (given by SRUFC players), Grant Elliott (given by President / Committee)
Match report written by Charley Wilkinson
Photos by Paul McDonald & WoodFair Photography
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WOMEN’S TEAM
SCUNTHORPE 71 – LEIGH LADIES – 10
SCUNTHORPE WOMEN 1ST XV — A FLYING START! 
TRY SCORERS
CONVERSIONSPhotos from Paul McDonald
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2nd TEAM
COALVILLE 15 – SCUNTHORPE 21
The Stags’ season got underway with a long trip to Coalville, with promotion firmly in the sights of both sides heading into the new campaign.
Scunthorpe started brightly and were rewarded with the opening try of the match. Following a Coalville penalty, Henry Dawson kicked deep into the corner. The resulting lineout was secured cleanly and the Stags’ pack asserted their dominance through a powerful driving maul. Debutant Leo Danvers then broke away, powering through the defence to dive over for the first score of the season. Dawson added the conversion to give Scunthorpe a 7-0 lead.
The remainder of the first half developed into a tightly contested battle, with neither side willing to give an inch. Strong defensive displays from both teams ensured no further points were added before the break.
Half-time: Coalville 0-7 Scunthorpe
Coalville emerged from the interval with renewed intensity and began to apply sustained pressure. Both teams produced moments of impressive attack and defence, but it was the home side who struck first in the second half. After a series of penalties in Scunthorpe’s 22, Coalville elected to take the three points and successfully reduced the deficit.
Scunthorpe responded with a penalty of their own to maintain a seven-point advantage, but Coalville soon found their way over the try line. A box kick failed to find touch, allowing the hosts to capitalise. The winger gathered possession before offloading to the centre, who broke through a tiring Stags defence to score. The conversion was added, bringing the scores level at 10-10.
The Stags regained control thanks to the reliable boot of Henry Dawson, who successfully kicked two further penalties to stretch the visitors’ lead to six points.
Coalville continued to push in the closing stages and set up a dramatic finish. Attempting to play out from deep inside their own 22, Scunthorpe lost possession, allowing Coalville to gather the loose ball and score under pressure. The conversion missed the target, leaving the Stags narrowly ahead by a single point.
With just minutes remaining, Scunthorpe earned a crucial penalty. Dawson again found touch with an excellent kick to the corner, and the Stags backed their forward dominance by opting for the maul. The lineout was secured, and the driving maul marched towards the try line. Joshua Cook then peeled away from the back of the maul and powered over for the decisive score.
The conversion drifted wide, but moments later the referee brought the match to a close, securing a hard-fought opening-day victory for the Stags.
Full-time: Coalville 15-21 Scunthorpe Stags
Match report written by Charley Wilkinson
Mom – Chris Murray-Auckland
Development Team
SCUNTHORPE 18 – Hull Ionians 24
The first game of the new season saw the Devs take on the Ramblers in beautiful conditions for rugby. The game started hard and fast with great running and big collisions from both sides. Scunthorpe gained some momentum and earned a penalty kick in front of the sticks with Tom Fell stepping up to slot over the first points of the afternoon, 3-0 to Scunthorpe.
The match continued and the Ramblers started to get a hold of the game with some hard running and quick hands but could not get through the Devs defences. Some ill discipline from Scunthorpe allowed Ionians to kick to the corner. After a sustained period of fantastic goal line defence, unfortunately Ionians managed to sneak over in the corner for the first try of the afternoon, unconverted, Ramblers lead 5-3.
Not to be outdone, the Devs picked themselves up and started to build phases in the opposition half. Ionians gained possession but the Devs backs decided to turn defence into attack, putting pressure on their opposite numbers, forcing the Ramblers back line to drop the ball which was quickly pounced on by Lloyd Akers who managed to run through and go over for Scunthorpe’s first try of the afternoon, converted by Tom Fell, 10-5 to Scunthorpe.
Ionians rallied again building multiple phases and forcing errors from Scunthorpe but the defence did not break and some fantastic scramble defence by Cam Ogg meant the Devs went into half time with a 10-5 lead.
The second half kicked off, Ionians making a few changes on the park but the wind in their sails continuously pinning Scunthorpe in their own half through strong running, quick recycling of the ball and fast hands getting the ball wide. After 15 minutes of the continued onslaught, the Scunthorpe defence gave way to two quick tries from the Ramblers, one of them converted giving them a 17-10 lead.
Scunthorpe gave their heads a wobble and decided it was time to wake up in attack and started to build their own phases, earning a penalty just outside the 22, this time electing to kick for touch. In true Scunthorpe fashion, the forwards claimed their own lineout, set a fantastic base and drove over the Ionians line for their second try of the afternoon by Gui Abreu, conversion unsuccessful, 15-17 to Ionians.
The last 10 minutes saw both teams going blow for blow with strong running and hard tackles but Scunthorpe gained an advantage of a penalty outside the 22, this time opting to take the points with Tom Fell slotting the kick through the posts giving the Devs a 18-17 lead.
The last 5 minutes saw Ionians not taking a backwards step, hammering their way down the centre of the field and recycling the ball quickly exploiting space out on the wing and managing to go over in the corner and converting the try giving them a 24-18 win at the end. It was a hard fought battle by both sides in a game that could have gone either way. Well done to both teams, on to next week.
MOM-TBC
COLTS
SCUNTHORPE 27 – DONCASTER 24
The Colts were the only Scunthorpe side in action at home on Sunday, and after a successful Saturday for the club, they were determined to continue the winning momentum.
The game got underway with both sides looking to make an early impact, but it was the visitors who struck first. Following a controversial passage of play that appeared to see a Doncaster player obstruct the Scunthorpe defence, the visitors found space out wide and crossed for the opening try. The conversion was successful, giving Doncaster a 7-0 lead.
Scunthorpe responded well. After building through several phases, the ball was worked out to Reece Clark, who timed his pass perfectly to release Alfie Lee. The centre used his pace to race clear and score Scunthorpe’s first try of the afternoon.
Doncaster restored their advantage with another controversial score. A loose ball appeared to have been knocked on by the visitors, but play continued and one of the Doncaster forwards picked up from the base of the ruck before powering over from close range. The conversion was added to make it 14-5 to the visitors.
The home side refused to let the game get away from them and soon hit back through scrum-half James Tomlinson. A slick move involving Harry Wilkinson and Leo Hull saw Hull burst through the Doncaster defensive line before being brought down just metres from the try line. Tomlinson reacted quickest at the breakdown, sniping around the fringe defence to score and bring Scunthorpe back into the contest.
Scunthorpe then took the lead for the first time in the match. Reece Clark produced an inch-perfect cross-field kick that found Caden Jones on the wing, and he finished brilliantly in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful, but Scunthorpe edged ahead 17-14.
Neither side could add any further points before the break, leaving the home side with a narrow lead at half-time.
Half-time: Scunthorpe Colts 17-14 Doncaster Colts
Doncaster kicked off the second half, but it was Scunthorpe who struck first. After earning a penalty, the home side kicked for the corner and secured clean lineout possession. The resulting maul marched towards the try line before hooker Harry Elmes broke away from the pack and powered through would-be tacklers to score. The conversion was missed, extending Scunthorpe’s lead to 22-14.
The visitors responded with two quick tries to swing the momentum back in their favour. The first came after an overthrown Scunthorpe lineout was gathered by a Doncaster player, who crossed from close range. The second was a moment of individual brilliance, with a Doncaster player kicking ahead before showing excellent pace to regather the ball and score. The successful conversion put Doncaster back in front at 24-22.
With only minutes remaining, Scunthorpe launched one final attack. The ball found its way to Austyn Stow, who produced a moment of magic, beating several defenders on a powerful run before diving over for a superb individual try and reclaiming the lead for the home side.
The Colts defended resolutely in the closing stages and, after a tense final few minutes, the referee brought the match to an end.
Full-time: Scunthorpe Colts 27-24 Doncaster Colts
FT Scunthorpe Colts 27 – Doncaster Colts 24
Mom – Leo Hull
Match report written by Charley Wilkinson
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