This win moves Derby to four points behind Dudley Kingswinford, with two games in hand. The fight for survival has begun.
It was a good start for Derby with Mc Grath Van Wyk kicking an early penalty after just three minutes. However, Nuneaton responded with a quickly taken tap and go penalty and Ben Hayword touched down from a driving maul. Fullback, Joe Wilson, added the extra points. In the first scrum Derby showed their strength by shoving Nuneaton backwards on their own scrum. This was a boost to Derby’s morale but then Mc Grath Van Wyk was given a Yellow Card for a high tackle. Nuneaton exploited the extra man and sent winger, Nemani Ragabo over in the corner. The sure boot of Wilson added the conversion.
Derby supporters gasped in dismay as captain, Sam Tebbs, limped off in obvious pain. He was replaced by Alex Clarke slotting in at wing forward and Njabulo Madondo moving to No.8. A missed tackle allowed Ragabo in for his second try in the corner. Wilson did extremely well with his kick from wide out. Derby then provided good support play before Tom Pickering forcefully broke through a tackle and sprinted to the line for a try. Mc Grath Van Wyk duly converted to narrow the points difference to eleven points. This was the start of the fight back and Sam Tebbs returned to the field of play and Alex Clarke to the bench. With quick ball from a lineout, Pickering took a short pass and once again forced his way through a tackle, stumbled a little but made it over for his second try. Mc Van Wyk added the extra points, to leave Derby trailing by four points at the interval. This concluded part one of the fight back.
At the restart Alex Clarke replaced Sam Tebbs again. We saw a more confident display by Derby with short bursts and line breaks from Simon Moon, Jack Bates and Nathan Bevan-Brown taking the ball forward. In fact, all the forwards bought into this tactic. From a 5-metre lineout, it was no surprise to see Bevan-Brown stretch for a try. This time the conversion was missed but Derby were in front by a single point. However, Mc Grath Van Wyk extended this with a penalty to four points. Derby were Looking comfortable, but another missed tackle saw No.10, Lucas Brindley, swerve through for a try converted by Wilson to put the visitors three points ahead, with time running out. In part 2 of the fight back, Derby looked more confident and determined. They mounted a series of attacks mostly confining play to the Nuneaton 22-metre zone. With a try denied, judged to have been held up, the forwards took on the defence and it was Josh Tizzard, brought back from retirement, who squeezed over for a try. The conversion was timed out and kicked away by a defender. Good tackling forced a penalty, and the ball was kicked to touch to be followed by the final whistle.
Overall, Derby showed great resilience and teamwork as they stuck to their tasks. A couple of flare ups showed just how that team spirit prevailed with a “No Backing Down” attitude clearly demonstrated.
It is away to Stourbride on the 4th of January. Dare we dream of a win? Time will tell.