Derby 22 Bedford Athletic 26
18/9/21
Derby made 4 changes to the starting XV that beat Towcestrians the previous week, with Jeri Oldfield, Josh Ridley, Josh McCallion and Will Town all coming in.
Derby were again led out by Charlie Barker for a game against a Bedford side that had already won twice.
Bedford kicked off, on a lovely sunny afternoon and they were soon on the attack. The first 10 minutes saw Bedford repeatedly attacking the Derby line, with Derby’s cause not helped by an early shoulder injury to fly half Jack Partinton. Eventually, despite some tremendous Derby defence, Bedford broke through to open the scoring after 13 minutes, with a well worked try.
Derby gradually worked their way into the game and drew level, after 22 minutes. They kept the ball alive through a number of phases, before Judah Simpson burst through a gap, to touch down in the corner and make the score 5 – 5.
Derby were forced into another reshuffle when Will Town departed, injured, with Sam Pittman coming on in the forwards and Rhondell Stabana moving from the back row to the wing.
Bedford kicked a penalty, after 40 minutes. Lewis Hancock responded immediately, with a penalty of his own.
Unfortunately, Derby did not deal with the Bedford kick off and conceded a try with the last play of the half, leaving the score 13 – 8 in Bedford’s favour.
Derby were under pressure at the start of the 2nd half, conceding a number of scrum penalties before the referee decided he had seen enough and awarded Bedford a penalty try after 46 minutes, as well as sending Mike Johns to the sin bin.
Derby hit back 3 minutes later, with a marvellous try of their own. Patrick Burke kicked the ball down the pitch and Judah Simpson won the race, hacked on twice and dived on the ball as it crossed the line. Lewis Hancock converted, leaving the score 20 – 15 to Bedford.
With 7 minutes remaining, Bedford kicked a penalty, meaning Derby would need to score twice to win the game.
The next phase of the game saw Derby moving the ball well, with numerous players involved, before Charlie Barker burst over the line to score. Lewis Hancock converted to leave the gap as 1 point.
Despite their best efforts, Derby could not conjure up another score and the final kick of the day, saw Bedford successful with a penalty.
Bedford deserved their victory, but it was a fine committed performance from Derby which saw them rewarded with a league point. With a number of players due to return from injury over the next few weeks, the future looks bright!
Come on Derby!
R. Bambra