Derby U16s vs Burton
tbc
Derby U15s Notts Casuals
tbc
Derby U14s vs Burton
Derby U14s travelled to Burton for this weekend’s game. The boys expecting an improvement in the score line since playing them 3 weeks ago, which they succeeded in doing.
Burton started strongly as always but Derby worked hard with little territory to hold Burton out for a good early spell. Burton eventually punching through a better organised Derby defensive line since the previous match. The match continued in a similar way with Derby defending hard and Burton also defending our counter kick and chase well. Derby ended the first half strongly only 3 tries behind, after a great pick up by Brandon Fowles from a lose ball out the back of the Burton ruck and covering almost half the pitch to go under the posts in the final move of the half. This score definitely gave the team some confidence and the second half subs were keen to make an instant impact, which they indeed did. We came close to scoring twice more getting to their 5m line only to be denied by unfortunate knock-ons. Burton then quickly countering and scoring a couple of individual tries. Derby again as per the last match had the final say, scoring a fantastic team try moving the ball from a scrum on the left wing all the way across the pitch in 2 quick phases allowing George Dickens to score in the right corner. The icing on the cake being a fantastic conversion from the right side line by Ben Walker.
Final score 41-12.
All the hard work on defence training over the last 3 weeks is starting to pay off and we closed the score line to the previous match. Derby should be proud of the continued progress they keep making and all the hard work at training. Several really strong performances today in the forwards and the backs, too many to call out, but special mention to Wilson Whiston-Riley who put in a great performance in his first match for the club.
Derby U13s vs Burton
This week the under 13s were back on the AGP and facing old friends Burton for a friendly match.
As anticipated, this proved be the toughest game of the season for us so far. Burton are a well-drilled side and have excellent skills, very much matching our own in lots of areas.
The game got off to a slower start than our recent fixtures, as players on both sides took heavy tackles from the outset. Burton scored their opening try at the six-minute mark, and another at 11.
The second phase of play was dominated by scrums and it was great to see both sides contesting equally. The improvement in technique from Derby throughout the season so far in this area has been noticeable and worthy of mention here.
Burton scored another two tries in quick succession by the halftime whistle.
Halftime saw a rotation of players from both sides, and the game restarted with vigour. Plenty of rucks and mauls throughout the third play allowed Derby to up the pressure and prevent several strong attempts at tries from Burton. However, Burton rallied and put another two tries in, squeezing through the defensive line with impressive speed.
By the fourth and final quarter of play, Derby were feeling a little downhearted, but the lads kept the pressure up. There were several more impressive scrums from both teams.
Burton scored a final two tries in the final minutes of the match taking the final score to 0-40 to the opposition.
Derby put in a strong effort throughout the match, with several near misses in terms of tries and the team’s efforts are commendable. We’ve plenty of learning opportunities from this game to take away ahead our next match.
Man of the match was awarded to Archie Mills who applied pressure throughout, performing some fantastic tackles and fast paced runs from start to finish.
Photos from home games today come from Mark Dunn: https://flickr.com/photos/194822549@N02/sets/72177720303460475
