Without even the consolation of coach ride to cushion the blow, Mods were on top for periods of this see - saw game, but once Grimsby managed to gain a second half lead, the red men could not get hold of the ball as Grimsby executed some excellent 8 man rugby to kill off the game.

After the early exchanges set the pattern, the much larger Grimsby pack seeking to play tight, whilst Modern looked more comfortable moving the ball into the wider channels. The home team struck first however as a Mods pass went to floor leading to a hack through and a foot race between Gearoid and two Grimsby players, with the referee satisfied it was a Grimsby hand that got to the ball first over the line.

Moderns quickly established themselves in the game leading to 3 points from the boot of Ben Hughes. This was quickly followed by Moderns' first try of the season, as their fast paced possession game caused Grimsby problems in defence. Quick ball in the red zone led to a front row special - Prop Mat Burrows offloading to Hooker Rob Hirsch who forced his way through two tacklers to score. The conversion followed, and half time saw Moderns 10-7 to the good.

The second half saw the red men pick up exactly from where they left off, a good kick off chase giving them possession in the Grimsby half, some structured phase play left a big blind side, which fly half Nick Carroll noticed, his rewind seeing No. 8 Leon Fifield and Hooker Hirsch execute a textbook 3-on-2 to Put Open side Dan Glynn over in the corner - who needs backs anyway?!

With Moderns continuing to struggle in the scrum however, Grimsby saw their route back into the game, and a sustained period of pressure saw them score to bring them back into the game. Moderns' defence remained resolute throughout the match, but with Grimsby's abrasive style starting to take its toll with injuries to Hirsch and Glynn needing running repairs, eventually the dam burst and Grimsby scored their third.

Grimsby then managed to score a fourth, decisive try to put them into a 24-14 lead. A nasty looking injury necessitated a change of pitches whilst Burrows was taken off to hospital with a neck injury (he's ok - a concussion but thankfully nothing more serious). Moderns worked their way into the Grimsby half with the clock on 3 minutes to go, and determined to at least come away with one point took a long penalty shot, which fell agonisingly short. With that, the game was effectively Grimsby's, who kept possession long enough to see off the clock.

A disappointing but promising start to the season for the Red Men, who will look to develop good number of positives as they host Lincoln next week.