Derby travelled to Cadeby Lane knowing that the winners of this game would finish higher in the league. Market Bosworth kicked off with the slope and stiff breeze in their favour; it didn’t take them long to use it. A clearing Derby kick failed to make touch and Market Bosworth ran the ball back to score after only 2 minutes.

4 minutes later they crossed again and with both conversions succeeding, Market Bosworth were 14 points clear after just 6 minutes.

Derby gradually worked upfield and Tom Good was forced into touch, just short of the try line.

Derby continued to press and were rewarded when Ben Marlow touched down under the posts. Mike Brookes added the conversion and Derby were back in the game.

The Market Bosworth fly half then kicked 2 penalties, the second of which saw Eldon Atherton sent to the sin bin. If Derby could avoid conceding again, a deficit of 13 points was certainly within reach once Derby had the advantage of the conditions.
Unfortunately this was not the case, as a charged down kick and missed tackles allowed Market Bosworth to score 2 converted tries in the final 5 minutes of the half.

This left the half time score 34 – 7 to Market Bosworth and Derby looking to limit the damage.

9 minutes into the second half, a Mike Brookes cross kick allowed Tim Lawson to score a try, which Brookes improved with an excellent conversion.

Ben Coombes became the second Derby player to leave the field for 10 minutes, but this did allow Jean Baptiste to come on for his debut.

Market Bosworth sealed the game with a try with 7 minutes left. The Market Bosworth fly half attempted a drop goal. The ball fell short but the fly half reacted quickest to collect the ball and score under the posts. He also added the conversion!

Tim Lawson grabbed his second try of the day in injury time to narrow the gap but Derby finished well beaten, by 41 – 19. This result left Derby 4th from bottom in the final league table after looking likely to finish considerably higher before losing their last 4 league games.

The wind had calmed and the drizzle given way to weak sunshine as the game kicked off in perfect conditions with Syston anxious to keep in touch of a possible promotional play-off berth and Derby desperate to put behind them a recent dip in form. 

The pace had now been taken out of the game by Syston who singularly resorted to numerous attempts to drop the goal that would have sealed for them a tight victory. Derby denied them this particular pleasure as their disciplined defence held firm. In truth, the visitors were mightily relieved at the blowing of the final whistle. 

Derby are rightly safe in mid table, finishing off next Saturday away at Market Bosworth. The league championship and play-off place goes to wire with Kettering v Hinckley and Syston watching from the shadows. 

After a 2 week break from action, Derby played Ampthill at Haslams. The Vice Presidents had an excellent lunch and trooped outside in dull, damp conditions, hoping that the Matlock defeat would be eradicated by a much better performance.

Derby kicked off, playing with a stiff breeze and with Brett Beckham at scrum half, for the first time for Derby.

It didn’t take long for the first score to arrive; unfortunately it came from Ampthill, with influential number 8, Lane, crashing over.

Derby continued their fight back as the clock ran into injury time. A break from Mike Brookes created space. His pass found Brett Beckham, who in turn found Louis Gandalfo, who sped clear to score.

The final whistle blew soon afterwards, leaving Ampthill acclaiming a deserved win.

Derby need to play better than this in the remaining games this season, if they wish to build momentum for next season. A return to the form shown against Hinckley would be very nice !

Come on Derby !

Derby travelled to Cromford Meadows in good heart, after last week’s excellent victory over Hinckley. Could they overcome Matlock; the last time this happened was 7th May 2006.

Matlock kicked off, with conditions proving better than forecast; no rain and a reasonably dry surface.

Derby did have the consolation of the final try of the game, when Louis Gandalfo crossed for his 4th try of the season.

The final score, 27 – 11 to Matlock summed up the difference on the day.

Derby have been on a great run and should not be downhearted at 1 reverse. 3 league games remain for Derby to improve their position, 5th place is still available, although Matlock will have something to say about that !

It appears likely that Derby and Matlock will meet once more this season, in the Derbyshire Cup Final. It will be interesting to see if Derby can perform to the level they achieve week in, week out, in this game!

Ladies’ Day, sponsored by Coors, produced possibly Derby’s best performance of the season. League leaders Hinckley were the visitors to Haslams and they certainly contributed to a cracking game. Norwest Holst were the match sponsors as Hinckley kicked off, in bright sunshine, but with a brisk wind blowing across the pitch.

A magnificent touchline conversion from Brett Beckham meant Hinckley had to score twice to win. This never looked like happening, as Derby ran the clock down effectively.

This was a marvellous win, against a good side, with all the players contributing both in attack and defence. Special mention must be made of man of the match Richie Robinson, for his work rate and tackle count.

A trip to local rivals Matlock, beckons next week. A similar performance would see Derby give Matlock a good game.

Come on Derby!

A much changed Derby side travelled to Stafford to play a club match. Stafford currently resides in the lower half of Midland 3 West North, so it was an opportunity for Derby to look at some different players.

6 players made debuts, 2 from the bench, with only 5 of the team that had beaten Banbury last week starting the game. New signings Joe Teager, Ben Marlow and Tom Carley all started, along with John Lewis while Chris Mansley and vet Graham Boyd came off the bench.

Unfortunately for Derby and in particular Paul Archer, the referee finished the game early after what looked to be a serious injury.

This left the final score 26 – 22, giving Derby a pleasing win.

Next week sees the annual Ladies’ Day. This is always a popular event and generous sponsorship by Norwest Holst and Coors will undoubtedly make the day go well. The Derby Ladies’ team are playing as well. The first team game, against league leaders Hinckley, should be a good contest.

What are you waiting for; come to Haslams and have a magnificent day!

Derby travelled to Bodicote Park, knowing a win would remove any lingering doubts about relegation.

Derby kicked off, on a sunny but cold day, with all those who made the journey from Derby in awe of Brett Beckham’s mum, Sue, who had travelled from New Zealand!

It did not take Brett long to reward his mum, his first penalty of the day sailing between the posts after only 4 minutes.

With relegation now banished, Derby can turn their thoughts to moving up the table. A good finish to the season could see them finish as high as 5th. Given the start to the season this would be a remarkable achievement and a good base for next season!

Come on Derby!

Match Report by Richard Bambra

Derby kicked off, on a lovely, Spring like day, looking to build on their recent progress.

It was Paviors who were the first to attack and they opened the score with a Graney penalty after 4 minutes.

A deliberate knock on gave Tom Good the chance to level, after 7 minutes and over the ball went!

6 minutes later Paviors went back in front thanks to another Graney penalty.

Paviors collected the Derby kick off, but the clearance was charged down by John Turner, leading to a 5metre scrum to Derby.  The ball was won, Brett Beckham found Tim Lawson and his inside pass found Tom Good, running a lovely line, allowing him to touch down under the posts, for his second try of the season.  He converted his own try and Derby were 10 – 6 ahead.

Both sides continued to look to score but all the referee had to note were 2 yellow cards. Paviors winger Smith joined in the bin, 7 minutes later, by Phil Maddocks.

The final whistle gave Derby an excellent win, based on good work by the pack, solid defensive play and creating and taking opportunities.

The difference between this Derby and the one that lost at Paviors 37 – 14 in October is staggering! All credit to coaches and players, the only way is up!

Come on Derby!

It was a blank League weekend so Derby hosted Dudley Kingswingford from Midlands 1 who came into the game on the back of some improved league form of late and keen to warm up for next weekends crunch relegation clash against Peterborough. Derby were still smarting from last week's defeat at Kettering and showed 7 changes to the starting line up, welcomed into the side were Pete Wilcox, Dave Garland, Ben Coombes, Paul McCartin, Adam Glover, Simon Rolfs and Canadian Martin Neuteboom with Tom Good switching to 10 and Richie Robinson taking the Captaincy.

Dudley started the second half strongly but Derby were up to task and forced Dudley to concede a penalty just outside their 22m to the left of the posts which Tom Good put over to make it 13-5 to Derby. This stung Dudley into action who had their best period of the game forcing Derby back. The big Dudley pack charged forward with a series of driving mauls and picks but were met with strong defence from the Derby forwards, when Dudley tried to run the ball the Derby backline snuffed them out, however Dudley did score in the 62nd minute, it came from a 5m scrum, Derby got the drive on the scrum but the Dudley scrum half and 8 combined to put the 8 over, the conversion surprisingly missed.

The game reverted to type with both sets of forwards effectively cancelling each other out and allowing neither side any phases however Derby finished stronger with Craig Hughes going over in the corner after smart handling by the Derby backs to make the final score Derby 18 - 10 Dudley Kingswingford.

Derby can take a lot from this performance and have posed a few 'nice' selection headaches ahead of the league clash with Paviors next Saturday.

Derby travelled to Waverly Road, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in 2008. It would not be easy, Kettering were lying 2nd in the league and had looked a good side when they played at Haslams earlier in the season.

As Kettering kicked off, those in attendance included Bob Taylor, President of the RFU.

Kettering were soon on the attack and went over, in the corner, after only 3 minutes. Derby responded with a Tom Good penalty, but Kettering were definitely getting on top. This was confirmed on the scoreboard after 20 minutes when, despite all Derby’s efforts, Kettering crossed for the second time, this time adding the conversion.

10 minutes remained when a Kettering pass went straight to Tim Lawson, who was clean through, a score would have made the last 10 minutes interesting, but offside was the decision.

A measure of the pressure Derby were exerting can be gleaned from the fact that Kettering ended the game with 2 men in the sin bin, although not enough time was available for Derby to take advantage.

The game ended, with Derby having won the 2nd half, 14 – 12, but losing the game 34 – 17.

Kettering look a good side, with a very solid pack, but Derby can take great heart from their second half fight back.

Come on Derby !

Match Report by Richard Bambra

An outstanding ‘shut out’ result wrenched from Newark, the joint leaders of the division and fancied match favourites - based on a defiant first half defence and second half controlled territorial aggression. Derby’s growing belief in themselves finally matured on a dank, soggy afternoon leaving Newark surprised and stunned by what they saw in front of them and a sorry afternoon beckoned on 6 minutes as Tom Good kicked Derby into a 3-0 lead.

Half-time and thoughts returned to the Matlock game the week before when a tiring team let the opposition pack into the hunt. Would Newark’s bigger forwards now gain sway? Would their backs run the ball out further than inside-centre? The first ten minutes would be crucial. Derby answered with another text-book try after only 7 minutes of the restart. A penalty into touch 10 metres from Newark’s line; a fine take in the lineout; a short, sharp rolling maul and Derby had scored before Newark could say ‘Richie Robinson’. Good followed Good converting Robinson’s try and Derby were now 17-0 up.

Only 3 minutes later and Good drove home his second penalty to take Derby 20 points clear. One more score and the day would be surely be theirs. And when it came, what a score! Quick ball by Derby’s half-backs released the Derby backline who networked through the Newark defence with stunning interplay leaving Brett Beckham to easily touchdown. No wonder Derby had a quick huddle, this was their day and one that will be remembered on and off the field.

And so a plaudit for the home supporters. For some weeks now the cry has been “Let’s get behind our team!” …and today they truly did… as they will need to do so again, away at canny Kettering next Saturday.

Match Report by Paul Richardson

(Matlock win scoring three tries to Derby’s two). 

After the deluge of rain over the previous two days this Saturday afternoon was met with rare sunshine, no wind, and a playing pitch in reasonably fine fettle. 

For the first twenty minutes both sides probed for openings through their forwards passage d’armes, either eight respectful of the other’s potential personified by Derby’s Matt Bates propping up the tightside after a long, long absence. The battle of the midfield began to run the Tigers’ way as their half-backs were opening up Matlock, peppering quick ball out to left with wing Louie Gandalfo - suddenly looking the most dangerous player on the field. 

Alas, Matlock’s first fluent back sortie saw them score out wide with their back-row freed in support. Derby rallied and looked to have done enough before the Matlock forwards mangled the ball over the line for an ugly try that brought them level. Matlock’s excellent Chris Young belied that last adjective by missing what was for him, a reasonable pot to convert and put his side ahead. 

Extra time beckoned with now Derby re-energised. Matlock had got away with handling the ball on the floor but transgressed once too often presenting Derby a chance to re-take the lead amid the encircling gloom. The angle was tight and near touch and although the range was met the posts were missed. Matlock miscued with a dropped-goal attempt but as the final whistle blew, they knew that they had just done enough to take the day away from what is now a developing Derby team. 

This was a fine, typical local derby and in truth, seeing these two Derbyshire sides in the NLD cup final would have been just reward for both with the manner in which this tie was played. Hard but fair.

Derby travelled to King Edward VII School, for their first league match of 2008.  Melton spent Christmas at the bottom of the league, pointless, whereas Derby’s good run had seen them move clear of any immediate danger.

Derby had one change to the selected side, with Elliot Spencer replacing Craig Hughes on the wing.

Derby had both the slope and a strong breeze in their favour in the first half, as Melton kicked off.

Derby had 2 early chances to take the lead, but both penalties were missed.

Melton kept pressing, but were unable to break through some strong and committed Derby defence.

As the game entered injury time it looked as if Derby had done enough, but Melton did not give up hope.

Derby lost 2 players in 2 minutes to the sin bin; John Turner and Dave Fitchett and Melton sensed that this was their chance.

11 minutes into injury time, the Melton scrum half picked the ball up and sprinted clear to score. The conversion was duly added and the game finished tied at 7 – 7.

In all honesty this was a poor game between 2 poor sides.  Given Melton’s record the fact that Derby did not enter the Melton 22 in the second half is an obvious cause for concern.

With Old Northamptonians losing, there is no immediate cause for concern, in fact ONs need to win 4 more games than Derby, with only 9 remaining.

Come on Derby!

After the horror show that was Luctonians, Derby returned to league matters and a key game against fellow strugglers Old Northamptonians. Both clubs needed a win; Derby would move 6 points clear of trouble if they could prevail, whereas ON could close to within 2 points.

It was Derby who were first into their stride. Richard Sparkes stole an ON lineout and Derby pressed forward. The ball was recycled and Phil Maddocks put Martin Kent clear to touchdown, with only 3 minutes on the clock.

2 Brett Beckham penalties made the score 11 – 0 after 12 minutes.

At this stage ON decided that they needed to join in!  Full back Martin kicked a penalty.  Ben Coombs was sent to the sin bin and Martin took advantage to kick another 3 points. A further penalty followed, leaving Derby 2 points clear.

10 minutes remained when ON prop Edwards received a yellow card, but as the half drew to a close, Derby had not engineered a score.

A penalty, for a late tackle gave Derby a chance to exert some pressure.  More penalties followed; the referee warned the ON captain.  Owen West again took the line out and Derby drove to the line. The maul collapsed and the referee ran under the posts and awarded a penalty try. Brett Beckham added the conversion and Derby were 3 points to the good.

ON were not finished, they attacked from under their own posts and only smart play from Tom Good prevented a bigger problem.  He then found Simon Rolfs, who almost scored in the corner.

The whistle went and Derby had a vital victory, 25 – 22. ON can count themselves unfortunate to have lost twice to Derby, by an aggregate of 5 points, but Derby now have the perfect platform to move up the league in the new year.

Come on Derby!

Derby travelled to Syston, looking to extend their winning run to 5; it would take some doing, given that Syston were top, with 10 wins from 10.

A cold but dry day saw Syston kick off.  Derby had the advantage of a strong wind in their favour for the first half; they needed to make this count!

Derby started well and a good run from Elliot Spencer ended with him being brought down just short of the Syston try line.  The ball was recycled, Syston offended and Brett Beckham kicked a penalty to give Derby the lead.

The killer score came with 7 minutes left, when the Syston full back skipped through tackles to score under the posts. The conversion duly followed and Syston were out of sight, 17 – 6 ahead.

Derby kept pressing and showed considerable spirit with no slackening of effort. 

They camped in the Syston 22, thanks, in part, to a number of penalties given away by the home team. This led to the full back being given a yellow card as the game entered injury time.

Derby regrouped; Richard Sparkes won line out after line out, from the throws of both sides, before finally Derby had their reward. The ball was set by the forwards, who had an excellent game, then sent down the line. Craig Hughes arrived at pace, drew the defence, found Louis Gandolfo, who beat the last man to touch down.

1 minute later, the final whistle went. Derby had lost 17 – 11, but could be proud of their performance. A better first half could have even produced a surprise result; the cheer from the Syston contingent when the whistle went was testimony to this!

Come on Derby!

From the start it was clear that this would be a totally different ball game to the one that saw Derby’s backs run so free against Market Bosworth in the EDF Cup victory of the previous week. 

Market Bosworth had made nine changes to beef-up their XV whilst Derby had made just the one with the return after injury of centre Phil Maddocks.  

Derby began on the back foot, losing both a line-out and a scrum within minutes of the off, however, to their credit they then shook off this shaky start regaining their shape and their composure and a fretful, frustrated Bosworth increasingly botched ball in hand as Derby upped and harried and niggled at them inching themselves into the game and onto Bosworth territory.  

The weather now closed in and things briefly looked dark for Derby before Beckham slotted home a stunning penalty from far out which took the wind out of Bosworth’s sails. This was followed by another calmly taken kick, and how the visitor’s must have wished for such a character of their own as they then missed with a simple chance of their own. 

A risky breakout by Derby ended with another Bosworth infringement, and Beckham duly booted the ball cleanly through the uprights. 17-3 and it would take something special to allow Bosworth back. Then replacement flanker Jody Else fell foul of the referee being sin binned on 35 minutes. Bosworth immediately scored through their forwards but their day was summed up with an simple, possible conversion being missed. 

All the while, Derby’s set-piece was ever gaining the upper hand and when Bosworth resorted to shenanigans against the Derby scrum, Brooks smacked the awarded penalty far into the darkening depths. Bosworth made too many mistakes; Derby did not, running out worthy winners 17-3. Next week is away at table-toppers Syston… where even the Bosworth supporters’ think Derby have a chance of providing an upset. Yes please.

This result continued Derby’s winning run to three matches and if truth be known, from the very moment they ran out onto the field, they looked like the side most likely to take the day. 

The Derby players combined well together although not every three-quarter foray went to hand… but as the bishop said to the actress “Not everything came off but what did looked most appealing…” Beau of the ballpark, full-back Brett Beckham had a field day with increasing acres of space to run back at what was in front of him, stretching the visitors to the limit and indeed the final try underlined this as back row forward Owen West was sprightly on hand to take Beckham’s offload to score under the posts. 

After the break, both sides were guilty of some lax play, Derby however, reacted quicker to any subsequent loose ball and from much chaos manufactured tries for Tim Lawson and Van Huyssteen. 

It’s true that as full-time approached, Derby did not always take the right option with the ball provided, but they demonstrated that they are now at the start (and building) of operating as units within the whole. They kept the crowd interested on a nippy November afternoon for the whole 80 minutes and were in complete control as the game eased to its finale. 

Market Bosworth return to Derby this coming Saturday, but this time in the league. It may be that the opposition will possibly field a stronger team for this more important encounter? Who cares, Derby now know that within themselves they have the A for Attitude to make it four wins in a row. 

Derby travelled to Northampton, looking to build on last week’s victory against Melton, in a key clash between the teams occupying 3^rd and 4^th bottom of the league.   Joe Mills for Jody Else was the only change to the selected team as Derby kicked off, playing down the slope and with a stiff cross wind favouring them.

5 minutes into the game Derby took the lead, with a Brett Beckham penalty.

3 minutes later, a Craig Hughes break allowed the forwards to set the ball up and it was Hughes himself who cut through to score under the posts. Brett Beckham converted and 10 minutes later kicked a penalty to put Derby 13 points clear.

10 minutes later, Beckham repeated the trick, to stretch Derby’s lead to 9 points.

5 minutes remained, Derby won the ball, but a missed touch allowed Old Northamptonians to run the ball back and influential fly half, Barker touched down and converted, to leave a 2-point gap.

Old Northamptonians camped in the Derby 22; attack after attack, 5 metre scrum followed 5 metre scrum, some for penalties, as kicks at goal were turned down.  Superb defence kept them at bay and the final whistle went; Derby had won 19 – 17 !

Derby move out of the relegation places with this win and if this spirit can be maintained, then the only way is up.

Market Bosworth, narrow winners against bottom club Melton, come to Haslams for the next 2 weeks, first in the EDF Intermediate Cup, then in a league match. Two wins would be very nice !

Come on Derby !

The bottom 2 teams clashed at Haslams; whoever lost would be in the mire!

Derby made 5 changes, but for once this was players returning from injury, rather than dropping out.

It was 2 of these players who ensured the best possible start.  The game was only 3 minutes old, when Craig Hughes fielded a high ball and ran through the Melton defence.  He went to ground, recycled the ball and Simon Rolfs brushed through the remaining cover, to score in the corner.

Melton cut the deficit after 14 minutes, when Cox kicked a penalty. Brett Beckham responded in kind 4 minutes later.

Melton kept it tight and made Derby work hard. Derby did not help themselves, however, with some poor choices and passes spoiling good opportunities.

A good Melton break, after 69 minutes, led to Richie Robinson receiving a yellow card. Melton were not to be denied and winger Warwick, squeezed in at the corner, from the resulting scrum.

Good breaks from Detleff Van Huyssteen and Simon Rolfs came to nothing, before Derby rounded off the game with a try.

Rob Lucas picked the ball up from a ruck and darted off, looping round the cover defence, to score by the posts.

Mike Brooks added the conversion and Derby had won 27 – 8.

A satisfactory win, despite the disappointing second half, which moves Derby up 1 place in the league.

With the league seemingly split into 2 sections Derby need to beat the teams in the bottom half with them; Old Northamptonians away, next week, would be a good place to start !

Come on Derby !

Derby travelled to Newark under no illusions about the potential difficulty of the game ahead; Newark beat Paviors 30 – 0 while Derby had lost 37 – 14 on their visit to the same venue.

Derby are starting to struggle with injuries and this resulted in 5 players, Ryan Milton, Detleff Van Huyssteen, Rob Lucas, Adam Wilson and Richard Sparkes all starting for the first time this season.  It is hard to maintain a pattern of play when the personnel are constantly changing.  Derby have used 40 players already and we are still in October.

The fact that this did not happen is testament to how hard Derby worked at stopping Newark.  The commitment and non stop tackling ensured that the final score remained respectable, with Newark adding only 1 try, a conversion and a penalty to their first half tally, leaving the final score 27 – 3 to Newark.

Newark thoroughly deserved to win and look as if they can mount a serious challenge for promotion this season.

Derby, in truth, rarely looked like scoring. A Robert Lucas dart into the Newark 22 and 3 line outs in the same zone, were the sum total of their attacking efforts, but this was a much better performance than the Kettering game.

Next week is shaping into a big game, as pointless Melton Mowbray  travel to Haslams.  A win will give Derby a huge lift, while defeat will leave a long battle against relegation.

Come on Derby ! 

After the comprehensive victory over Hereford last week, Derby returned to league action, welcoming Kettering to Haslams. League points were needed and if Derby could repeat last week’s performance, they would have a good chance.

Paul Burrows was a late replacement for the ill Mike Brooks, as Derby kicked off, in perfect rugby playing conditions.

Kettering took the lead after only 2 minutes, when full back Jones kicked a penalty, the first 3 of an eventual 15-point individual haul.