Home fixtures lost to weather but All Blacks win on the road

Gainsborough Rugby Club lost both of their home fixtures to the weather and waterlogged pitches on Saturday.

Games were hastily rearranged and the All Blacks went to play Sleaford II and the Maori made the short trip to Scunthorpe to play their fifth team.

The All Blacks gave a first team debut to Adam Mathius who played very well and walked off with the Man of the Match award.

Conditions for rugby were very good, much better thosethe All Blacks had left behind.

Gainsborough dominated from the start, particularly in the forwards and won the first three scrums against the head.

This win comes on the back of some excellent form for the All Blacks and they are now playing with real confidence.

While line-outs were evenly contested, the rest of the half was all Gainsborough and they took a 26-0 lead into the half-time break.

First half tries came from Harmer Bates who crossed the line twice, a fine individual effort from Tuplin who ran from his own 22 and a try from the ever impressive Turner Guest who continues to put in a good shift every week.

Tom Parkinson and Mathius both converted one try each.

The second half gave Gainsborough an opportunity to experiment with some of the training ground moves.

This, along with the hosts strengthening their side with players from the touch line, meant reduced scoring chances for the All Blacks.

Sleaford defended in more depth and whilst they struggled to get out of their own half to create any dominance they worked hard at keeping their visitors at bay.

Gainsborough scored two tries in the second half, one from Chadwick and the other from Ryan Woods, that one coming from some excellent forward pressure.

All the team played very well especially in the first half playing very much as a tight unit.

Ross Duncan continues to impress and Tom Parkinson is in good form at full-back, while Daniel Dawson worked hard in the centre and tackled well to avert Sleaford.

The final score was 36 - 7 to Gainsborough who returned to town happy with their day’s efforts.

Next week the All Blacks entertain Birstall who are the current league leaders and this will be a big test for the local players.

Gainsborough Maori played a good game at local rivals Scunthorpe and were unlucky to lose by one point at the end of a keenly fought contest.

The Maori are in the pool for their fixture next week.