Derby kicked off in the rain, looking to put last week’s performance behind them and get back to winning ways.
They welcomed skipper Charlie Barker back from injury while Josh Bingham made his first start since the opening game of the season. Josh Harvey came in at prop and Rhondell Stabana returned to the back row.
It was Kenilworth who made the better start and they took the lead after 5 minutes when a break through the middle created the space to score a try.
Derby were dominant up front at this stage and were giving Kenilworth all kinds of problems in the scrum. Unfortunately, the Derby lineout was not working as well as the scrum, resulting in an inability to capitalise on some promising postions.
Derby kept probing and were rewarded just before the break. The ball was kept alive before Ben Wilcox sliced through the Kenilworth defence to score his 4th try in 4 games.
This left the half time score 7 – 5 to Kenilworth.
Derby were playing with the breeze in their favour in the second half and started well, but were unable to create any clear chances.
In fact, it was Kenilworth who struck next, with a penalty, after 12 minutes.
McGrath Van Wyk cancelled that score out, with a penalty of his own, 3 minutes later.
This left Kenilworth 2 points ahead and it remained that way, as the game entered the final 10 minutes.
In the gathering gloom, Derby launched an attack and pounded away at the Kenilworth line. They kept the ball well before Simon Moon crashed over to score. McGrath Van Wyk added the conversion and Derby were 5 points ahead, with 8 minutes left.
Derby put the game to bed 3 minutes later, with a fine try. They attacked with pace and swept the ball to the wing. Will Town received it and crossed in the corner, for his 5th try of the season. A fine Mcgrath Van Wyk conversion put Derby 12 points clear, with little time left.
Kenilworth were not finished though and as the game entered injury time, they responded with a converted try of their own.
There was time for the game to restart, but when Derby stole the ball and kicked it out, the final whistle blew.
A good win for Derby, their 4th of the season sets them up nicely for the visit of Old Halesonians, who are at Haslam’s next Saturday.
Come on Derby!
Report by: R. Bambra
Photos by S Hardwick
