Flanked by a Guard of Honour from Derby & Burton Minis, Sam Pitman led the team out for his one hundredth appearance for Derby. Sam Tebbs captained the side and Joe Acton made a welcome return at scrum half. Overall, the game was strewn with penalties and Burton played to their strength in the driving mauls.
Things started well for Derby with a sweeping move just short of the line with a tackle on Cameron Finlay. In the first scrum, following a penalty and lineout Derby shoved the heavier Burton pack backwards. However, Derby then conceded three consecutive penalties and fullback, Dom Phillips, kicked the last one to give his side an early lead. Derby clocked up another two penalties and No. 10, Will Simson, took a quick tap & go, to dart through the Derby defence for an unconverted try. Derby quickly replied when Cameron Finlay produced a zig-zag sprint to score in the corner. He showed outstanding acceleration and balance to get past defenders, quite incredible. Lewis Hancock did well to convert, reducing Burton’s lead to one point. Approaching half time, No. 8, Will Hopwood, broke from a maul to score a try, once again converted by Phillips to make the score Derby 7 Burton 15 points at the interval.
After the restart the Burton pack initiated another two quick-moving driving mauls ending with a try for hooker, Jamie Davies, duly converted by Phillips. Three minutes later, some good inter-passing at speed saw Mc Grath Van Wyk cross in the corner. Once again Lewis Hancock converted from far out. From the restart, Joe Acton made a break and Cameron Finlay chased the kick ahead to score his second try. It was then that disaster struck when Yellow Cards were given to James Godfrey and Nathan Bevan-Brown, in quick succession. The referee awarded a penalty try and Burton had an extra seven points added.
It seemed to electrify the remaining thirteen Derby players and good pressure brought them a Hancock penalty. When Tom Pickering touched down for an unconverted try, hopes were on the up. David Cowell came on at prop, replacing Rhondell Stabana to meet the legal requirements of a front row. Burton took advantage to gain ground from penalties and from yet another driving maul, Davies touched down for his second try. With Phillips converting, all looked lost. Happily, Sam Tebbs had other ideas and rallied his squad with his fighting spirit. The effort remarkably saw Lewis Hancock score and convert his own try to narrow the gap to just two points. The clock ended the game a few minutes too early for Derby, but it was a valiant fight back and full credit to both sides for producing an exciting and entertaining game.
The profusion of babies and young children in the Club after the game contributed to a happy atmosphere and bodes well for the long-term future of Derby Rugby Club.
Report by: Gerry Sherry
courtesy of Tom Porter Design