Family affair as Magee to the four for Old Grovians

Old Grovians kept pace with the Yorkshire Four promotion race thanks to an eight-try thrashing of Marist.

The home pack was arguably the biggest Old Grovians have come up against yet the visitors dominated them, the pack producing their best display of the season.

Anthony Griffin and John Hinchliffe scored Grovians’ first two tries but debutant Ben Magee stole the show. He came on for the injured Hinchcliffe and scored four tries – the same number as his brother Aaron the week before.

His first came as a result of a quickly taken penalty. The ball found its way to Magee, who finished off the move to extend Old Grovians lead. His second saw him go fully 80 metres, receiving the ball inside his own 22 before showing blistering speed up the right touchline to score.

Ben Brown converted a penalty before flanker Brad Williams, who had another hugely impressive game at 7, completed the first half scoring with a fantastic solo try which saw him weave a path through the Marist forwards to score on a run which had begun in his own half. Old Grovians held a 34-0 lead at the break and had secured an important bonus point.

As the second half wore on, the game became increasingly fractious but Old Grovians added three more tries.

Andre Lesur finished the match with a nasty looking gash above his left eye but capped another fine performance at scrum half by setting Magee up for his third try of the afternoon.

Williams gathered in another well judged Brown kick before feeding Magee for his fourth. The youngster then turned provider as a rampant Old Grovians back line elected to run the ball from inside their own 22.

Magee cut inside from the left touchline to beat two would-be Marist defenders before recycling possession and eventually skipper, Chris Blackhall crossed under the posts. After a six-year try drought, Blackhall has now scored three tries this season.

As the league enters its Christmas break, Old Grovians have finished off 2012 in imperious fashion. Not only has their tryline not been breached in the last two games, they haven't conceded a single point!

They've racked up 104 across that same, two-game stretch and remain just two points behind leaders, Harrogate Pythons. The remainder of the campaign sees them play six of their final ten games at home with a trip to Old Otliensians being the only away fixture against teams currently occupying the top six in the division.

Promotion was the club's stated goal at the outset of this season and as we head into the new year the club controls its own destiny with the promotion battle now effectively a three-horse race.