Grasshoppers had to start this game with uncontested scrums so conceded the game. A match then took place under Game On rules.

Game On was the very, very, very late order of the day, as Grasshoppers are sadly struggling.  It was to be a full contact game of 14 v 14 and 30 minute halves, but despite this, they pulled on their jerseys to face a strong and determined 1871 side, who came out the sheds with only one thing on their mind.

The rout started from the first whistle where immense pressure was put straight on to Grasshoppers and after only 2 minutes, Niall Reilly (12) carried hard, gaining good ground, the ball was recycled quickly for two phases, before Junior Peni (8) crashed through some flailing Grasshopper arms to go over for the first score.  Harrison Slater (10) converted the score.

There then followed what can only be described as a complete and utter destruction of Grasshoppers in virtually every single facet of the game, save a handful of good carries and tackles by a couple of the Grasshopper players.  The 1871 handling was crisp, exact and quite special in places, the opposite of what was displayed during the warm-up.  The lineouts were sharp, the scrums solid and the breakdowns were quick, with the ball being moved away fast to willing hands who worked hard to get around the corner to set up early.  From the first try to the end of the half, each following try took 4 minutes or less to be scored.

7 separate people crossed the try line, with Junior Peni getting his hat-trick and Danny O’Sullivan (13) scoring a brace, with his second being the try of the day, due to the very quick thinking to take a tap penalty at 25 minutes, then some excellent interplay between Logan Flint (4) and Danny O’Sullivan, with both running rings around defenders and supporting each other right up to and over the line.  This brought ooohs, aaahs and warm applause from the spectators.

The second half was much like the first, with the destruction continuing throughout the half.  The first score of the half came after 1 minute and fittingly it came from Kayci Bernard (11) on his 100^th game for the club.  The ball was caught from the kick-off by Logan Flint, moved down the line, Callum Clayton-Smith (16) carried very hard, getting well over the gain line, then the ball was moved quickly out wide to Kayci Bernard, who held his width well and took off down the 5 mtr line, shrugging off the crossing defender and beating the last gasp defender to run around and under the posts.  The conversion was taken by Joe Banks (15) who stepped in at 10 for Harrison Slater.

8 more tries were scored in the half, with Kayci taking more to make his hat trick, Aidan Summerfield (9) scoring a brace, after getting his first score in the first half.  Oliver McAllister (6) also scored a brace, with a score in each half and Junior Peni put more fear into the opposition, taking 2 more scores to make it 5.

A very, good team effort, giving an almost complete performance, against a depleted Grasshoppers side, which unfortunately also lost two players to injury.

Man of the Match deservedly went to Logan Flint whose handling and work rate really stood out, whilst he “…made space for other players around the pitch, without even knowing it.”

A fine ending to this half of the season.