Spalding 33
Southwell 33
A strong finish saw Spalding open their Counties 1 Midlands East (North) campaign with a draw at home to Southwell.
The Elephants were chasing the game from the fifth minute, when they conceded a converted try, and were behind until snatching a draw in the last minute to secure three league points
New signings Alex Newberry and Henry Hoyles were in the home squad, while the visitors fielded several new faces.
Back chat to the referee handed a penalty to Southwell and from the back of the scrum their fly half burst through weak tackling for a converted try.
Within five minutes it was 14-0 but Spalding’s response was swift with captain Willis Ingleby diving over by the corner flag for a converted score.
A kick through by Ingleby saw Taylor Crowson gather the ball and an offload to right winger Ben Shields brought a good finish in the corner.
However, Southwell’s forwards were causing Spalding problems and two tries resulted in the away team having a comfortable lead of 14 points at half-time
Ollie Machin set up Charlie Beecham for a try and, with the conversion, Spalding were back in the hunt
Southwell came straight back from the kick-off and a couple of powerful carries saw them go open a seven-point lead with only a couple of minutes left.
Spalding launched one last attack and a quick tap penalty, five metres out in front of the posts saw Ingleby squeeze over the try line. A simple conversion confirmed an even share of the 66 points.
Elephants: Broome, Anker, Newberry, Douglas, Hobson, Firth, W Shields, Lambe, Wraith, Ingleby, Foster, Machin, Crowson, B Shields, Beecham. Subs: Humphrey, Parker, Hoyles.
