Honours even after Preston Grasshoppers’ historic first league derby with Blackburn

This was the first-ever league encounter between the two local clubs and ended with honours even in a closely fought contest.

The home side were first out of the blocks with a try in the corner as early as the second minute with an expansive move which saw Russell dot down in the corner and Jarrold’s kick was good.

The lead however was short-lived as Hoppers recovered their composure and forward pressure saw skipper Taylor crash over. Pearson converted from the touchline and the scores were level at 7-7.

The two kickers exchanged penalties and, although Blackburn enjoyed the majority of possession and territory, the away defence stood the test and late forward pressure brought a converted try for Lamprey giving Hoppers a 15-8 half-time lead.

After some end-to-end action, Blackburn were able to level the scores with a try from Simpson and a fine wide conversion from Jarrold tied the scores again at 15-15.

With Hoppers now enjoying more possession, they laid siege to the home try-line and after strong forward pressure, the ball was released to the backs with a clear overlap only for a defensive deliberate knock-on to result in a penalty try and yellow card and advantage again to Hoppers at 22-15.

But the home side again reacted strongly and drew level with a converted try for Richardson and with 10 minutes left on the clock it was still anybody’s game.

With five minutes left, Hoppers spurned a 
clear three points from a penalty in the 22 for a tap and possible fourth try only to knock on and then had to 
hold their breath as a last minute penalty sailed wide to end a pulsating contest all square.