Derby finally got their league season underway at Greens Norton Road and they swept Towcestrians aside with an exciting display of running rugby, crossing the try line 10 times.
Charlie Barker led out a Derby team, containing a number of new faces, on a pleasant September afternoon.
Derby didn’t have long to wait to begin the scoring. After 3 minutes a lineout was claimed and Derby drove over the Towcestrians line, with Charlie Barker claiming the try.
9 minutes later, Nat Wigley picked off a loose pass and scored a debut try. Lewis Hancock converted both times, leaving Derby 14 points up.
Towcestrians lost a prop to the sin bin and another to injury meaning the game went to uncontested scrums until the sin bin was over.
Derby continued to dominate and as the half drew to a close scored 2 further tries.
Firstly, Jake Barker crossed and this was swiftly followed by Jake Roome, who claimed the bonus point try.
The final act of the half saw Lewis Hancock kick a penalty to leave the half-time score 27 – 0.
The 2nd half was only 2 minutes old when Nat Wigley broke through a number of tackles to power his way over.
14 minutes later, Jake Barker scored his 2nd try of the day, before Judah Simpson ran 70 metres, also to score.
15 minutes remained when Patrick Burke scored in the corner. The next try was scored by the forwards, driving Towcestrrians back over their own line, allowing Charlie Barker to score his 2nd try.
The final try came in the dying moments, with Patrick Burke crossing for the 2nd time and Lewis Hancock converted to complete the scoring.
This was an impressive performance by Derby against a Towcestrians side who never gave up. No doubt, tougher games await, starting with Bedford Athletic’s visit to Haslams next week, but this was an extremely satisfying start to the season.
Come on Derby!
R. Bambra