Pre Match
K's were hit by several last-minute injuries/illnesses for the Scunthorpe game, with Tom McD (shoulder), Charlie U (shoulder) and Thomas H (bike!) injured, and Henry ill:
Starters
1. Joe D
2. Dan O
3. James H
4. Callum C-D
5. Thom B
6. Will M
7. Joel S
8. Will H
9. Alf A
10. Alfie O
11. Wyatt B
12. Mason O
13. Oscar H
14. Rhys S
15. Jacob H

Finishers
16. Ollie Ma
17. Dan W
18. Max H
19. Dylan G

Huge kudos to the team spirit of George, Robert, Thomas H, Charlie, Nathan S, and Aidan for coming to watch and support the team. Following a touching minute's silence, the two teams were ready to get started.

First Half
Scunthorpe kicked-off the match in chilly but dry and calm conditions. K's ran 3 carries before Scunthorpe were caught offside, and Jacob kicked into touch for a K's penalty. Joel rose highest and K's won a second penalty for offside before being penalised 10m for backchat to the referee. This gave Jacob the platform to kick to touch, giving K's a lineout 6m out. However, Scunthorpe won the lineout and kicked clear. The ball was taken by Alfred who passed to Jacob. Jacob spun the ball wide to Wyatt, who cut inside. K's won the ruck, Alfred chipped through the defence and Will H showed impressive pace and determination to touch the ball down and score K's opening try, which Wyatt converted. 7-0
Callum took the restart well and K's had quick ball, Alfred spinning to Dan O who fed Joe D on a strong run which pierced the Scunthorpe defence. K's looked to go wide but quick line speed prevented Mason getting the ball away. Scunthorpe turned the ball over and won a penalty which they dispatched into touch for a lineout on the K's 22m. Good pressure from Will H disrupted possession and K's recovered the ball, quickly releasing Wyatt who drew the defender and released Jacob. Jacob's pass back inside for Wyatt didn't quite find the target for what would surely have been a score. Scunthorpe recovered the ball and kicked clear to a waiting Jacob, whose chip was brilliantly chased by Wyatt who tackled the Scunthorpe defender into touch for a K's lineout. K's set up a maul but couldn't get the ball out and Scunthorpe had a scrum deep in their 22m. Scunthorpe ran the ball to the edge of their 22m then found their backs facing K's forwards down the left and simple hands and pace resulted in a try that was converted to level the score 7-7.
Alfie's O's lovely restart didn't receive the chase it deserved and Scunthorpe took the ball under little pressure but errant passing a couple of phases later enabled Rhys to turn the ball over for K's, before winning a penalty for offside - with Jacob's kick earning a lineout on the Scunthorpe 22m. But the throw was long and Scunthorpe reacted quicker, making several powerful runs into K's defence before winning a penalty which resulted in a lineout 9m inside K's half. Scunthorpe knocked the ball on in the air and Callum passed to Alfred to Alfie then Mason whose kick was somewhat smothered but pushed Scunthorpe just into their half to recover. What looked like an excellent jackal from Mason was deemed a penalty and kicked towards touch, but fell short. Rhys got a leg to it and Alfred tidied up, with Joe D working hard to get back and protect the ball. Callum took on the Scunthorpe defence and made some metres. Alfie's kick clear was charged down but went dead. From the 22m, Wyatt recovered the ball and was tackled into touch 8m inside his own half for a lineout. Joel leapt high again but Alfred's pass didn't find Alfie before his pass was intercepted and Scunthorpe's centre was hauled down 8m out. K's turned over the ball after a couple of phases but were caught offside and Scunthorpe's forward power was too much as they crashed over, 7-14.
Again, K's failed to pressure the restart, missing three tackles to give Scunthorpe the impetus inside K's half. Scunthorpe had their tails up and were playing with confidence, running several phases to advance to the edge of K's 22m before a chip through was just blocked by Jacob and Alfred was again on hand to tidy up, kicking clear to halfway. Another outstanding chase from Alfred put pressure on the fullback before cover arrived to halt progress just inside the K's half. Scunthorpe looked to go wide but a trademark interception from Wyatt halted Scunthorpe's momentum with a try under the posts which he converted himself to level the score, 14-14.
Oscar took the restart and Joe D was on hand to secure a tricky bouncing ball but Scunthorpe managed to turn the ball over. A chip through was beautifully picked up by Jacob who tried to launch a counter only for the offload to Wyatt to drift into touch. Joel stole the Scunthorpe lineout ball and Dan O fed Alfie who passed to Mason. Mason stepped inside with an overlap outside and Scunthorpe turned the ball over, only to infringe shortly after, giving K's a penalty. Alfred took the tap, making 25m before releasing the pass which found Jacob. Jacob's incredible offload released Joel who recycled the ball well to Will M then Mason. K's were now deep inside the Scunthorpe 22m but a big hit took Dan O back outside the 22m. He offloaded to Joel who did brilliantly under pressure to feed Alfie O. Alfie fed Thom B, to Will H who beat his man before selflessly releasing Jacob to score, which Wyatt converted, 21-14.
The restart was taken by Oscar who released Joe D for another good run, only to be tackled into touch back on the halfway line. Scunthorpe ran several phases and advanced 15m into K's half before Thom B was on hand to pressure the tackler and force a penalty for holding on. Alfred again took the tap, feeding Joel on the left. His pass inside went to the floor, Thom B recovered but infringed and K's had handed the initiative back to Scunthorpe still in their own half. Scunthorpe ran several phases progressing to the edge of the K's 22m, but a big hit from Joe D forced a penalty. Again Alfred went quick, releasing first Mason, then Oscar and Wyatt who crafted a one-two before winning a scrum for a Scunthorpe knock-on. Two phases were met with determined Scunthorpe defence before K's won a penalty for a high tackle, from which Jacob's kick gave K's a lineout midway inside the visitors 22m. K's won the lineout, but the ball was scrappy and K's were flat-footed, giving Scunthorpe the opportunity to turn the ball over. They immediately made a break which was halted by outstanding effort from Wyatt. However, K's infringed and Scunthorpe took a quick tap penalty, feeding the prop who bounced 4 tackles in a run from his own half deep into K's 22m. Once again, it was Wyatt who provided the cover with a tackle into touch. Scunthorpe won their lineout but knocked the ball on in the tackle and the whistle blew for the end of the first half.

Half Time
K's brought on their finishers, ensuring the half game rule was observed once again.

Second Half
An excellent kick from Wyatt and chase from Dylan saw K's finally put pressure on a kick, winning the ball in the process. However, a couple of phases later they were penalised for crossing. Scunthorpe tapped the ball and kept it tight, and running phase after phase to move up the field into K's 22m before the outstanding Wyatt managed to turnover the ball. Alfred fed Jacob and his excellent hands released Oscar who was tackled before he could release the ball to Dylan on the wing, knocking the ball forward in the tackle. Again Scunthorpe probed before a loose pass enabled Wyatt to hack the ball forward just outside K's own 22m. Wyatt's chase was excellent and he recovered the ball. With Mason and Max in support and ready to score, Wyatt stepped across to take out the defender, the ball just drifted behind the runners and the chance was lost as Jacob unfortunately knocked on. A good scrum from Scunthorpe was spoiled by quick defence from Joel and the ball was loose, but recovered by Scunthorpe who broke the tackle only for Will H to provide the cover and halt progress. K's put in tackle after tackle as Scunthorpe slowly edged towards the halfway line before a K's hand knocked the ball forward whilst Scunthorpe were in possession. K's lost skipper Will H at this point (shoulder) and Rhys rejoined the action. Play restarted with a penalty for Scunthorpe which was kicked backwards (accidentally), giving Scunthorpe a lineout on their own 10m line. Good pressure from Thom B and Joel in the lineout caused scrappy ball and a knock-on from the Scunthorpe 9, giving K's a scrum. A strong scrum from Scunthorpe earned them a penalty which was kicked to touch, giving Scunthorpe the lineout inside K's territory. K's conceded another penalty from the maul and Scunthorpe had a lineout inside the K's 22m. K's resisted multiple phases before an accidental knock on gave Scunthorpe another penalty inside the 22m. K's were slow to get back leaving Thom B exposed, but his tackle was good and K's managed to hold the ball up over the line from the next wave. Mason kicked deep from the goalline dropout and a good chase from Dylan halted Scunthorpe on the K's 10m line. A piercing run from the other Scunthorpe prop was halted inside the 22m by Alfred before the dangerous flanker knocked-on in the next phase. However, play was brought back for a high tackle 30m out. Scunthorpe ran multiple phases, eventually getting over the line to tie the scores 21-21.
Quick thinking from Wyatt at the restart saw him take a grubber and recover the ball, earning a penalty for a high tackle. Intelligently, K's opted for the shot at goal which dropped agonisingly short from almost 40m out. Good chases from Max, Dan W, Ollie Ma, Rhys and Dylan helped halt a Scunthorpe counter, causing the visitors to kick clear. Jacob recovered the ball quickly, beating the first man before stepping back inside, despite the spare man outside. He offloaded to Joel, who fed Alfred before K's were awarded a penalty for offside. Again, intelligently, K's chose to take the shot at goal which Wyatt slotted beautifully and K's had a lead to defend again, 24-21.
Scunthorpe's restart didn't go 10, so K's took a scrum on halfway but conceded a free kick, again giving the impetus to the visitors. In the second phase, another dominant tackle from Wyatt pushed Scunthorpe backwards but K's immediately infringed, giving Scunthorpe another penalty and an attacking platform with a lineout on 22m. Ever impressive Joel jumped high to win the ball and Wyatt kicked the ball clear. Scunthorpe won the lineout on halfway, slowly edging forward and winning a penalty as K's strayed offside. Scunthorpe kept the ball close, using their big runners to edge into K's 22m and close to the K's line before winning another penalty 5m out. Again K's managed to hold up the ball over the line. Following the goalline dropout, again the ball kept coming back at K's but Callum managed a vital turnover, giving K's a scrum inside the 22m. Once again the scrum had to be reset several times and K's were adjudged to infringe, giving Scunthorpe a penalty in front of the posts 20m out. They chose to run, immediately winning another penalty as Dan W tackled high. Again they chose to run it, knocking the ball on to give K's another defensive scrum against a dominant pack. Multiple resets later and K's won a crucial penalty which Wyatt kicked for the lineout 30m from K's own line. Imperious Joel took the ball and K's went to the backs, Jacob joining the line nicely, but his offload couldn't quite find Max. However, the outstanding Wyatt popped up in the right place, kicking the ball forward to the edge of the visitors 22m. They kicked back but the runners were offside and play was called back for a K's penalty. Alfred went quickly, spotting the open field but the ball went forward in the next phase. Scunthorpe were again penalised from the scrum, giving K's a penalty which Jacob kicked into touch for a K's lineout on 22m. Scunthorpe managed to come away with the ball, winning a penalty several phases later, but still in their 22m. Again they ran. Again K's infringed, and Scunthorpe tapped again. Super defence from Wyatt pushed them back before a high tackle saw Oscar see yellow. Again Scunthorpe ran it, again K's put in the tackles, ultimately holding up the attacker to earn a scrum on halfway. Alfred fed Jacob who slipped a nice pass inside to Mason. Callum then drove K's over the visitors 10m line, followed by Joe D, setting up Alfred to pass back to Jacob, who kicked the ball into touch for the final whistle, taking a crude late hit for his troubles.

Post Match
MOTM was Wyatt - an outstanding, match-winning performance in tough conditions. Well played Wyatt.

Scunthorpe executed their gameplan well, causing serious issues for K's. K's had to dig really deep for that narrow victory. Good teams win when they play well, great teams win when their backs are against the walls and they have to struggle for every inch. K's will now patch themselves up ready for another game next weekend. Well done lads!