Derby travelled to high flying Stourbridge to play their first game since beating Broadstreet on 16th December.
Fred Chell made his debut on the wing, while Rhondell Stabana played for the 50th time; congratulations Rhondell!
Derby kicked off and were soon on the attack. They took the lead after just 4 minutes when Fred Chell swooped on a loose ball and put Josh Bingham away to score under the posts. Ben Wilcox converted.
3 minutes later, Stourbridge levelled with a converted try of their own.
After 18 minutes, Derby struck again. Sam Tebbs fed Fred Chell and he sprinted 40 metres to mark his 1st game with a try.
Again Stourbridge hit back, with a converted try to take the lead, 5 minutes later.
The end to end action continued and with 30 minutes gone Derby were back in the lead thanks to a Charlie Barker try, converted by Ben Wilcox.
2 minutes before the break, Stourbridge scored their 3rd converted try to ensure they led at halftime 21 – 19.
It had been an excellent half of rugby, with both teams eager to get hold of the ball and attack at pace.
The 2nd half was 2 minutes old when Stourbridge extended their lead with a penalty.
6 minutes later, Derby were pressing and looked like scoring. Unfortunately, the ball was lost and Stourbridge swept upfield to score a try which was converted, putting them 12 points ahead.
Derby did not let this setback deter them and hit back with 2 tries in 4 minutes. A superb offload from Sam Tebbs created the space for Jack Bates to score. Ben Wilcox converted.
Then, Jake Roome and Ethan Pearson combined to put Lewis Hancock away to touch down in the corner. A superb Ben Wilcox conversion put Derby ahead 33 – 31.
After 22 minutes, Stourbridge regained the lead with a penalty. 8 minutes later, a Ben Wilcox penalty from wide out struck the post.
4 minutes remained when Stourbridge scored another try and with 1 minute remaining kicked a penalty, to ensure Derby left with only 1 point for scoring 4 tries.
A magnificent game of rugby and a superb performance from Derby, which should give them lots of confidence for the remainder of the season
Next week sees another long trip, this time to Banbury.
Come on Derby!
Report by: R. Bambra