For the 2nd week in a row, Derby played a game in atrocious conditions. The biting cold of last week was accentuated by driving rain, which continued for the majority of the match. A strong breeze blew across the pitch just to add to the discomfort!
Charlie Barker was ruled out through injury, so Sam Pittman returned to the side, while Josh Bingham started at fly-half, with Lewis Hancock moving to the wing.
Derby kicked off and 1 minute later were behind! Peterborough scored a try with the first attack of the game and then converted, to lead by 7 points.
Derby hit back 4 minutes later when Lewis Hancock kicked a penalty.
After 18 minutes, Derby took the lead. A Lewis Hancock break was taken on by Will Town. He slipped the ball to Ethan Pearson, who touched down for his 1st try for the team. Lewis Hancock’s conversion from out wide came back off the post.
After 27 minutes, Peterborough retook the lead. Peterborough were awarded a penalty and opted to kick for goal. The attempt went wide and Derby ran the ball out of defence. Unfortunately, they got isolated, lost the ball and Peterborough ran in a try.
Sam Pittman departed injured, to be replaced by Declan McManus.
The half time whistle saw Peterborough ahead, 12 – 8.
The 2nd half was only 3 minutes old, when Peterborough had a player sent to the sin bin. Unfortunately, Derby were unable to take advantage of the 10 minutes with an extra man.
The rain had drenched your humble correspondent’s notebook by this stage, making writing impossible, so the rest of the match is reported from memory!
53 minutes had elapsed when Derby drove Peterborough back over their own line. Peterborough dropped out and the kick found Andy Brown. He spotted a gap in the onrushing Peterborough defence, burst through and touched down under the posts. Lewis Hancock added the conversion and Derby led again.
Declan McManus was sent to the sin bin not long after this, more to do with Derby giving away too many penalties then anything he had done. Peterborough kicked the resulting penalty to level the match at 15 – 15.
2 minutes later, Peterborough scored their 3rd try, to take the lead once again.
Derby kept pressing, but as the game entered injury time, Peterborough broke clear to score their bonus point try and deny Derby any league points.
Peterborough probably deserved their victory, although the final margin was hard on Derby. Peterborough had a powerful pack and used it to good advantage. They looked after the ball better than Derby, who unfortunately lost possession on a number of occasions.
This result sees Derby drop to 3rd, but still leaves everything to play for as the 1st half of the season concludes next week, with a visit to Peterborough Lions.
Come on Derby!
Report by: R.Bambra