SANDAL 24 – SCUNTHORPE 50
Following last week’s home defeat against Northern, Scunthorpe were looking to return to winning ways as they made the trip across to Sandal.
Three changes were made to the forward pack. Jack Rowbotham replaced the injured Will Dale at prop after Dale suffered a shoulder injury in last week’s match. Nick Dyson returned to the second row alongside Jack Brunt, while the back row remained unchanged.
There were also two changes in the backs. Will Robinson moved to scrum-half, while Jack Leggate came into the side on the wing.
The replacements bench consisted of Ben Dealty, Guy Mychjaluk, Rory Rendall-Tyrell, Cameron Christer and Will Horner.
First Half
Sandal kicked off and the visitors made the perfect start.
After a series of pick-and-goes from Will Robinson and Dylan Martin, Scunthorpe worked their way to within metres of the try line. With Sandal outnumbered in defence, James Dyson delivered a simple pass to Nick Dyson, who crossed for the opening score. The conversion was successful, giving Scunthorpe a 7-0 lead.
Scunthorpe soon added a second try through Alfie Oldridge, who showed tremendous strength to fend off a defender before using his pace to dive over in the corner. The conversion was missed, extending the lead to 12-0.
Sandal responded with a try of their own, making use of an overlap out wide as their winger crossed in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful, reducing the deficit to 12-5.
The visitors restored control with another score. A powerful carry from Alfie Oldridge attracted several defenders around the ruck before Nick Dyson offloaded cleverly to his brother James Dyson, who ran in under the posts. The conversion was added to make it 19-5.
Oldridge then grabbed his second try of the afternoon. Receiving an offload from James Dyson, he stepped past one defender and powered through the full-back’s challenge to score in the corner. The conversion drifted wide, leaving the score at 24-5.
Scunthorpe’s fifth try came through Will Robinson. Once again, James Dyson’s well-timed pass created the opportunity, and Robinson showed excellent pace to break clear and finish. The conversion was successful and the lead stretched to 31-5.
The visitors continued their dominant first-half display when Ethan Taylor crossed for Scunthorpe’s sixth try. An out-the-back pass from Nick Dyson found Taylor, who bounced through several tackles to score. The conversion was successful, taking the score to 38-5.
There were no further additions to the scoreboard before the referee brought the first half to a close.
Half-Time: Sandal 5-38 Scunthorpe
Second Half
Scunthorpe kicked off the second half, but it was the home side who struck first. A well-worked move created space out wide, allowing the Sandal winger to spot a gap and race in for the try. The conversion was successful, narrowing the score to 38-12.
Sandal crossed again for their third try of the match after a lineout move reached the back of the set-piece. Spotting a gap in the defence, one of Sandal’s second rows powered over for the score. The conversion was missed, making it 38-17.
Scunthorpe responded in style through Will Robinson. Selling a convincing dummy pass, Robinson fooled the defenders before diving over for his second try of the afternoon. The conversion was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 43-17.
The visitors’ final try came from the bench through Will Horner. A powerful run from Dylan Martin put Scunthorpe firmly on the front foot, and when the overlap appeared, Horner finished off a two-on-one opportunity with a clear run to the line. The conversion was successful to bring the score to 50-17.
Sandal secured a fourth try in the closing stages to earn a try bonus point, but there was to be no further comeback as the referee blew for full time.
Full-Time
Sandal 24-50 Scunthorpe
Match Report written by Charley Wilkinson
MOM – TBC
WOMEN’S TEAM
SALE FC WOMEN II 50 – SCUNTHORPE 22
Scunthorpe Women were on the road for their first away game of the 2026/2027 season, with Sale providing the opposition.
Scunthorpe were out of the blocks quickly, with some well-worked handling allowing Ewa to score her first try. The game was played at a quicker pace than we were used to, which tested us physically.
Sale applied pressure from various areas, but some scrappy play allowed Cassie to use her footwork to skip through the defence and score.
The next try came from Sophie. When we used the ball effectively out wide, we were on top.
We allowed Sale to creep back onto the scoresheet before the break, making the score very close at 15–12 to Scunthorpe.
After the break, we settled for a while but then allowed Sale to gain the upper hand and score two more tries. They edged ahead until a well-worked score from Holly, picking up at No. 8 and offloading to Ewa, kept us in touch at 22–26.
We knew Sale liked to move the ball wide quickly, and it took us a while to shift across effectively in defence as fatigue began to set in.
Multiple tries followed. Their danger players were particularly pacey once they got on the outside and into space.
The game itself was evenly matched, with unforced errors from both sides keeping the forwards busy in the scrum.
Scunthorpe’s forward pack worked tirelessly throughout the game, dominating our own scrum and turning over Sale’s scrum too! 💪🏻
We go again next week! 💚💚
Players’ Player: Jorja, for her link-up play between the forwards and backs.
Coaches’ Player: Dawn, for her tireless work in defence.
Opposition’s Player: Ewa, for her attacking prowess.
🏉 TRY SCORERS
Cassie 🏉
Sophie 🏉
Ewa 🏉🏉
🎯CONVERSIONS
Cassie x 1
DEVELOPMENT
SCUNTHORPE 42 – DRIFFIELD IV 27
Match report pending
Mom – TBC