Match Reports 10th-11th October 2026

Scunthorpe travelled to a struggling Driffield side looking to put right the disappointment of last week’s defeat against Ilkley.

The starting XV saw Dylan Martin and Matthew Mason continue in the front row, while Alfie Taylor made his first start of the season, replacing the injured Kane Linklater. The second row was completely reshuffled with the returns of Guy Mychajluk and Nick Dyson, while the back row remained unchanged for the third consecutive week.

The backline showed no changes from last week’s fixture, while the bench consisted of Alfie Oldridge, Cameron Christer, Jack Murr, Will Horner and Ben Dealtry, who was set to make his first-team debut.

Scunthorpe kicked off the contest, but it was Driffield who struck first. Following a successful line-out, the hosts moved the ball through the backs and their centre powered through several tackles to score beneath the posts. The conversion was added to give Driffield an early 7-0 lead.

The visitors responded quickly through Ethan Taylor. A scrum deep inside the Driffield 22 provided the platform, with Ethan Heath-Drury feeding Marcus Payne, who produced a superb one-handed offload to send Taylor over untouched. The conversion was successful, reducing the deficit to 7-5.

Scunthorpe soon took the lead. Will Dark’s quick footwork carved open the defence before he timed his pass perfectly to Will Robinson, who used his pace to beat the remaining defenders and cross for the try. The conversion was added, making it 12-7 to the visitors.

The away side extended their advantage shortly afterwards. Ethan Heath-Drury burst through the midfield and offloaded to Will Dark, who raced under the posts. The conversion was successful and Scunthorpe led 19-7.

The bonus-point try arrived through Jack Leggate as Scunthorpe’s attacking play continued to overwhelm the hosts. After several phases kept the ball alive, Leggate beat his opposite man and finished in the corner. The conversion was successful, extending the lead to 26-7.

Scunthorpe’s fifth try came courtesy of Josh Lugsden. Slick handling across the backline created the opening before Lugsden chipped cleverly over the defence and gathered his own kick to score in the corner. The conversion was successful and the visitors moved 33-7 ahead.

Lugsden then grabbed his second before the break. Spotting a mismatch in defence, he rounded his marker and crossed again, with the conversion successful. The visitors headed into half-time with an emphatic 40-7 advantage.

Driffield began the second half brightly and reduced the deficit when their outside centre ran a sharp line to break through the Scunthorpe defence and score. The conversion made it 40-14.

Scunthorpe responded almost immediately. Ethan Taylor delayed his pass perfectly to put Jack Leggate into space, and the winger used his pace to beat the full-back before touching down beneath the posts. The conversion increased the lead to 47-14.

Another score soon followed through a fine Dyson family combination. Nick Dyson broke through the middle of the park, drew the final defender and offloaded to James Dyson, who ran in for his first try of the afternoon. The successful conversion stretched the score to 54-14.

Josh Lugsden then completed his hat-trick. Breaking clear inside the Driffield half, he showed excellent speed to beat the remaining defenders and score under the posts. The conversion took Scunthorpe beyond the 60-point mark at 61-14.

To their credit, Driffield continued to battle and were rewarded with two late tries, securing a bonus point of their own. However, there was never any doubt about the outcome as Scunthorpe produced an impressive response to last week’s defeat, running out convincing 61-24 winners on the road.