In a match drenched by rain and driven by gusty winds, Grassington Old Publicans eked out a 19-17 victory over the Hardraw Lions at Old Stratford, making the 110th meeting between these two fierce rivals one for the history books. The conditions were anything but ideal, but the wet and windy weather only added to the drama of this local derby.
The opening minutes of the match saw both sides struggling to adapt to the slippery conditions, with more knock-ons than either team would care to admit. Hardraw Lions' captain, Gareth "Grizzly" Hemsworth, led his side from the front with some big early tackles, while Grassington’s fly-half, Simon "Slippery" O’Malley, tried his best to manage the swirling winds with some risky but precise kicks to touch.
The deadlock was broken 15 minutes in, when the Lions’ winger, Joe "Jet" Mallory, darted down the right flank, slipping past two defenders like they were stuck in the mud (which, to be fair, they almost literally were). Mallory’s try, followed by a tricky conversion from Ben "Boot" Thompson, put Hardraw ahead 7-0.
Grassington didn’t stay down for long. After some sustained pressure and a series of scrums that had the front rows turning the pitch into something resembling a battlefield, the Old Publicans’ veteran flanker, Tom "Tank" Radcliffe, crashed over from short range. O’Malley’s conversion attempt wobbled in the wind and missed, leaving the score at 7-5 in favor of the Lions. As halftime approached, the Lions extended their lead with a penalty. Grassington were caught offside, giving Thompson the chance to slot a 35-meter kick through the posts, bringing the halftime score to 10-5 in Hardraw’s favor.
The second half saw the intensity ramp up even further. Grassington, determined not to let their home crowd down, turned to their forwards. A rolling maul from the 22-meter line proved too much for the Lions' defense, and Danny "Dozer" Briggs, Grassington’s burly No. 8, drove over for a try. This time, O’Malley’s conversion attempt found its mark, and Grassington took the lead 12-10. Hardraw responded quickly. A brilliant set-piece move off the back of a scrum saw Thompson slip a clever inside pass to "Lanky" Liam Carter, the Lions’ lanky fullback, who galloped through a gap in the defense to score under the posts. Thompson’s conversion was a formality, putting the Lions back ahead at 17-12. With the game on a knife’s edge, the final ten minutes were all about pressure. Grassington camped inside the Lions’ 22, hammering away at the defense. After what felt like an eternity of phases, O’Malley took a bold decision. Spinning the ball wide from a ruck, he found Jack "Jolt" Farnsworth, the winger who had been relatively quiet all game. Farnsworth cut inside and dived over the line for the crucial score. With O’Malley’s conversion, Grassington led 19-17.
The last few minutes were pure tension. The Lions threw everything they had at Grassington, but the Old Publicans' defense held firm, with Radcliffe and Briggs making key tackles. The Lions’ final attempt to steal the game was a long-range penalty attempt by Thompson, but the wind was having none of it. The ball sailed wide, and the referee blew the final whistle, much to the relief of the home crowd.
The victory couldn’t have come at a better time for Grassington Old Publicans, who have been languishing near the bottom of the Yorkshire Rugby Union league this season. After a series of disappointing losses, including a painful 38-10 drubbing by Whitby Wanderers, the Old Publicans were desperate for a win to lift their spirits and keep their relegation fears at bay. This win nudges them a few spots up the table, but they’ve still got plenty of work to do if they want to stay clear of the drop zone. Hardraw Lions, meanwhile, have had an inconsistent season, sitting mid-table but still within touching distance of the top four. Captain Gareth Hemsworth will no doubt be disappointed with the result, especially as they had looked set to grind out a victory in tough conditions. The Lions have struggled to string together a run of wins this year, with injuries to key players like prop Mark "Bigfoot" Henderson and scrum-half Freddie "Flash" Dawson hampering their campaign. This narrow loss to their rivals will sting, but the Lions still have hopes of a late-season surge to climb into playoff contention. They’ll need to find some consistency—and a way to adapt to the wild Yorkshire weather—if they want to make a serious push.
Speaking after the match, Grassington captain Simon O’Malley praised his team’s grit. "It wasn’t pretty, but sometimes you’ve got to win ugly, and we certainly did that today," he said, still wiping mud off his face. For the Lions, captain Gareth Hemsworth took the loss on the chin: "We’ll be back stronger. If we can handle that kind of weather, we can handle anything. And next time, we won’t let Grassington get away with it." In the end, it was a tight contest where every inch mattered, and on this day, Grassington Old Publicans had just enough in the tank to hold off their old foes.
