After the previous week at Newark , the home side were keen to return to winning form. The Gods were not with us on this day, injuries and illness playing their part in us only fielding a basic side, with barely enough cover for a front row.  

Lincoln is a side of relatively unknown quantity to Derby , having not play them in recent memory, so to that end it was “play it as you see it lads”. And so they did, they fought hard, absorbed a hell of a lot of pressure and should have come out with more than they did. But it was not to be Derby ’s day, the stronger Lincoln side, with some notable strong players in 3 counties and Midlands squads, showed their strength and skills throughout the game.  

All credit to the depleted Derby side, which refused to give up and came out with pride intact and resolved to do better in the return match which is to follow in February.  

After the last meeting between these two sides last year, both knew this was going to be a tight and tough game. On that last occasion, Derby had the home advantage and made good use of it to win, but that was then and this was another year on, and this game was League!  

The reporter was busy with touch duties, so this report is limited to the overall performance of the sides and the result that unfolded.  

A tremendous game of rugby took place on this bright but chilly day, neither side giving anything away. Derby held much of the control of play in the forwards and some carefully placed kicks to touch hastened the track towards the home sides try line on many occasions, only strong defence preventing the final placement of the ball.  

At half time, Derby were 5 – 0  down but with everything to play for, so back into battle they went and produced a fine run down the left hand side by Joe Rock, breaking the final attempted tackle to touch down. Dan Brittian provided the extra 2 points and Derby took the lead.  

Derby continued the pressure and it wasn’t too long before a further try extended the lead, with conversion to 5 – 14. But Newark weren’t finished, they fought hard and forced Derby into their own 22 for what seemed like an eternity, Finally breaking through to score just to right of the posts. The conversion was missed, but this drew them nearer to the Derby lead.  

Every player on the Park did their bit, and you could not ask anymore of anyone, only a last minute try from Newark forced a home win of 15 – 14 in the dying moments of the game. Well done to all that day, rugby at its best!  

This was always going to be a challenging match for Derby , as over the years Loughborough have been respected opposition at this age group.  The match turned out to be more of a cliff-hanger than we’d thought it might be.  

The game started with good Derby possession, right from the kick off, pushing into the Loughborough 22 metre zone.  The pressure from Derby in open play was not matched in the scrum unfortunately as players were forced into slightly unrehearsed positions, and Loughborough managed to disrupt the scrum to the extent that Derby gave away three free kicks.  Some good phases of open play though, with Matt Smith making a good steal, and Jordan Burke executing a lovely pop-up pass to send the backs into the 22 metre zone once again. Good Loughborough defence and slightly loose play from Derby backs quelled the attack.  

With changes made to the Derby front row, the scrum was sorted out by the second quarter, and this proved to be a stable attacking base once again.  A series of penalties from Derby then started to flow.  The problem? – over zealous rucking, rightly judged to be killing the ball.  Thankfully for Derby , Loughborough failed to convert these to points, with two failed goal kicks.  Something for Wednesday evening’s training session for Derby in this.  

In all, the first half was quite evenly matched, Derby ahead on possession, Loughborough ahead on control (and penalties awarded). It ended without points.  

After the break, Loughborough came back with heads switched on, and quickly slotted a try.  An opportune interception saw the quick lads take the ball forward. Derby ’s defence kept out the initial attempt, but a push-over was not well defended, and Loughborough managed to get their 5 points.  The try was converted, and Derby were looking to catch-up.  

The pace of the game lifted after that.  A great run through by Kyle Perks (12) caught Loughborough’s defence ill-prepared, and forced a scrum on the Loughborough 5 metre line.  From this Derby obtained a line-out at 15 metres from the Loughborough line, and we called a 2-man lineout (!?). It was lost to Loughborough along with the opportunity.  The pressure was soon re-applied, and from a Derby penalty on the Loughborough 10 metre line, the forwards provided a driving maul that Loughborough couldn’t contain.  The final try honours came to Adam Glover (3) to ground the ball.  The conversion by Dan Brittain gave a further 2 points.  

Yet more action from Derby forwards came minutes later, from Loughborough 22-m Dan Wade made a strong drive forward over the try line, but the ball was held up.  Two forward drives later, it was George Murfin (2) who managed finally to ground the ball for another 5 points to Derby , this time unconverted.  

The final 10 minutes saw the cliff-hanger.  Loughborough never let their heads go down, and looked to be heading for points on a number of occasions.  The Derby defence held together, but one bit of loose play by Derby (off side at a ruck) saw Loughborough gain a penalty within kicking range, and of course they took the points (12-10 to Derby ).  During one of the final plays of the game, Loughborough kicked over the Derby defence, Dan Brittain (15) made a good predicted catch and called a ‘fair mark’.  The ball was now safely in the Loughborough half once more, and kicked out by Derby to end the game.  

Good play from both sides, nail-biting finish.  Plenty of falling down water needed by coaches from both squads!

On a bright day in what is always a windy Sleaford, Derby started off at a slow pace. Sleaford putting on the pressure and for 10 minutes the game was played in Derby’s half. From a Sleaford scrumage, Derby committed an offence which might have cost early points but were saved by a missed kick. Derby returned to play, forcing the ball into touch at the half way mark, winning the ball against the head, a useful move pushing Sleaford back towards their line and once again into touch. From this line out Jordan Burke won the ball which was quickly fed out to the backs and Derby were looking for their first try, putting more pressure into the right hand corner of the field. The ball was quickly worked out again from a ruck for Joe Rock to take on towards the centre, only for Jordan Burke to rejoin the attack, taking a switch pass and scoring under the posts.

As the half progressed, Derby won many of Sleaford’s line outs but often failed to progress effectively from these advantage points. Slowly Derby were taking control of the game when at the 23^rd minute, from a Derby scrum, #10 Sanjay Sharma received the ball, quickly feeding Centre Perks who fed to Scott Hudson for a well worked try. The conversion by Dan Brittain completed the move. Derby’s game was now beginning to be more fluid and from a penalty at 10 metres out, the ball was worked across field, passing out left and then turned inside again for Adam Glover to force over for the last try of the half. Half time score 0 – 17.  

Sleaford came out in the second half with more purpose, and caught Derby knapping, some sloppy tackling allowed the home side to break through and take 5 points back.

Derby were quick to respond after this, from the kick off, forcing Sleaford into their 22, forcing mistakes and taking control and moving the ball from right side to left and then back again for Joe Rock the easily break through the defensive lines and score under the posts, Dan Brittain converting. 5 – 24.

The game then went into a period of fits and starts with a number of good opportunities missed by both sides. A good move from a Derby line out inside the Sleaford 22 produced an excellent rolling maul, changing to a ruck but quickly moving the ball out for Joe Rock to take his second try, once more Dan Brittain converting.

In the last phases of play, Derby drove forward again with Ross Cawley-Nash taking the ball on towards the try line, only for the referee to adjudge the ball to have not been placed down, hard luck Ross, nearly your first try for Derby, hold on to it next time!!  

Final score Sleaford 5 – 31 Derby, a good result for Derby but with lots to work on to be ready for their next League game, come on lads!!  

This was a keenly contested match, and while Derby had the majority of possession they also managed to give away the most penalties – which gave Ilkeston all their points.  

The Derby pack usually manages to dominate the opposition, but the size/strength of the Ilkeston forwards initially took Derby by surprise a little.  The consequence of this was some fairly ‘rushed’ and ill-disciplined rucking in the first minutes of the game, leading to 2 penalties to Ilkeston.  The second saw Ilkeston on Derby’s 5m line.  Derby managed to hold up the push through, resulting in a 5m scrum to Ilkeston, and then 5 points with only 3 minutes gone.  

Derby came back with a number of excellent back’s moves straight from the training sessions.  No try’s came as a result though, the last pass failing to make the target.  Shortly after this, Derby Open-Side Flanker Howard Burrows needed to be replaced (blood replacement) following a rather solid contact with a fist.  

It’s important to ‘get points to get even’ and a Derby move following this incident, started by a nice loose ball pick-up by scrum-half Tom Swainston, led to a kick over by Dan Brittain which was very nearly touched down by Derby on the chase, but Ilkeston managed to touch down for a Derby 5m scrum.  Swainston took the ball around the scrum, off-loaded to winger Jem Hassel who made the try line in the corner for 5 points to Derby .  

5 minutes before half time Derby were once again caught off-side at a ruck, and Ilkeston managed to kick for 3 points.  Right on half time Derby were awarded a penalty, a good effort at kicking by Brittain unfortunately just missing the target.  

The second half started with a move reminiscent of Derby ’s first half try.  Following a penetrating run on the left flank, Derby forced a penalty 2m away from the Ilkeston try line.  Swainston again off-loaded a nice ball to Hassel, scoring in the corner.  

The Derby forwards then went up a gear, and performed one of their trademark driving mauls, making 20 metres, but the ball was judged to have been ‘held-up’ – a little harsh.  Matt Smith then made his debut as hooker for Derby, and at the scrum Derby won the ball which was shipped wide to Stand-Off Dan Brittain who provided a Wilkinson-style drop goal to move Derby to 13 points.  Brittain was very nearly in the points again following a 70 metre break-through run, being stopped at the 5m line.  

The second half summary was: Derby providing the majority of pressure, too much loose ball, and a little less tidy in the backs department than the first half.  

All in all, not a bad contest from two sides that were quite well matched.  Learnings for Derby : better control at rucks, and watch where those feet are!

Derby Captain: Kyle Perks

Some matches are so evenly balanced that a victory to either team seems unjust.  So it was with this match.  Both teams defended well, and put each other under pressure between the two 22-metre lines – it didn’t seem likely for either to score.

The first half saw Derby putting the pressure on Chesterfield, assisted by two penalty kicks to push Derby up to the Chesterfield 22m.  The initial momentum was lost via a Derby scrum, won by Chesterfield followed quickly by a penalty against Derby – putting Chesterfield on the offensive.  

At a subsequent lineout, Chesterfield appeared to be making a good break through the centre, but the ball judged ‘not straight’ put Derby back in control.  An excellent break by Derby down the left of field – from a loose ball picked up by Liam Emmett, and passed to Jordan Burke saw the first real try opportunity.  Chesterfield defended their territory well, and in the following five minutes two Derby players needed to be replaced through injury, the more serious being James (Granite) Livsey, sustaining a nasty shoulder injury while trying to recover a loose kicked ball in front of the Chesterfield chaser. It was 50 / 50, and Granite lost out.  

Around 20 minutes in, Derby were starting once again to gain the upper hand, but a free kick against Derby pushed Derby back into their own 22m.  The response was immediate, and another free kick (to Derby) pushed the ball forward, and in the ensuring scramble, Chesterfield gave away a penalty in the front of their posts giving Derby’s Dan Brittain an easy 3 points.  

For the remaining 7 minutes of the half, Chesterfield put Derby under pressure through two attacks, but the Derby defensive organisation was good and held the score a slim 3 – 0 in Derby’s favour.  

The second half was much of the same.  Things got a little heated, seeing the Chesterfield no.4 and Derby no.6 walk for 10 minutes in the bin.  Chesterfield came close to the points twice through penalty kicks 30m and 20m out, both missing their mark.   

The play was moving end to end, and each team manning good defences, Derby holding up one potential try following a break by Chesterfield right on the corner flag.  

2 minutes before the final whistle though Chesterfield did manage to break through following a free kick awarded on the Derby 10m line.  The resultant break, using the Chesterfield no.14, found touch on the Chesterfield right flank.  The try was converted, and with less than a minute of play remaining Chesterfield walked away with the 2 league points, the score 7 – 3.  

From a coaching viewpoint, it was an excellent game.  Both sides showed good commitment and some excellent skills.  The Derby backs didn’t quite get the space to show off their improving talents, but the whole team worked well together in what will most probably be their toughest encounter of the season.  The forward play was impressive, and the defensive structure (which has been a centre piece of the training sessions) worked very well.  

Thanks to all who came along to spectate – and needed a couple of stiff drinks after the final few minutes!  Special mention to James (Granite) Livesey, whose brave drop onto the ball saved Derby from an early try, but unfortunately has probably taken him out of playing for quite a while.   

This was the first league game of the season for the Derby U17’s, and an early test for them against a local side who have in previous years presented good opposition and a well contested game. It was a little unfortunate that Matlock had on this day a shortage of players and could only field 14, Derby providing Paul Halstead to boost their numbers.

Straight from the kick off Derby’s pressure forced a loose ball which Matlock collected, a hard early tackle from Ed Wilkes created a further loose ball which George Murfin (2) picked up and took over the Matlock line for 5 points, Dan Brittain (10) converting. 7 – 0.

In the second half Matlock were soon awarded a penalty for alleged foul play and took the opportunity to kick for 3 points. Straight from the restart Derby returned to controlling the game and a driving maul provide George Murfin (2) with the simple task of putting the ball over the line and moving the score to 41 – 3.  

At this stage of the game, 45 minutes having elapsed, it was clear that Derby had full control of this game, and whilst Matlock won a further penalty, the restart quickly produced a superb running try opportunity for Kyle Perks (13), with the kind of running lines any player would have been proud of. At this stage the score had reached 50-6 and one final phase of play from the Derby team enabled Kyle Perks again to complete the task of placing the ball of the line and bring the game to an end.  

Against a considerably weaker side, Derby took the advantage for playing good rugby, there were some very good phases of play and lots to build upon as the league games now start to build up. Well down lads lets’ keep it up and be there for training on Wednesday!!