Having previously beaten Bridgnorth and Banbury, Dudley Kingswinford looked ready for this home encounter in front of a large crowd. Derby looked keen but produced a disjointed first-half performance. They gave the opposition time and space to move the ball and a couple of missed tackles proved costly.
Lewis Hancock missed a penalty before Derby suffered an early setback when Mc Grath Van Wyk was shown a Yellow Card. Play swept up field and Jim Ryan scored an unconverted try. Five minutes later, a long lineout ball went astray and centre, Smitherman stretched for a second unconverted try. This gave the home side the confidence to run hard at the Derby defence. They seemed assured that quick and physical support was there to secure the ball at the breakdown. This ensured a Lion’s share of possession for them. A missed tackle allowed scrum half, Deery, to race through a split defence for try number three under the posts. This time Vaughan converted, giving Dudley a seventeen points clear lead. Derby refused to buckle and produced some good defence and ball retention. It was just a reward when Tom Pickering touched down for a try just before the interval. The conversion was narrowly missed leaving Derby trailing by seventeen points to five.
The restart proved disappointing, when, after three minutes Vaughan crossed in the corner for a bonus point try. Nathan Beven-Brown replaced Mick Johns and Jake Barker replaced Rhondell Stabana. They both had an impact as the Derby pack opted for a pick-and-drive approach to breach the home defence. Simon Moon scored from a forward drive and Mc Grath Van Wyk added the extra points. Another forceful drive by the pack brought an unconverted try by James Godfrey to narrow the score to five points. Minutes later good close support saw Mc Grath Van Wyk score a bonus point try to level the scores. It was very much a case of game on! However, from a scrum, a chip and chase ended with Alex Deery scoring his second try, which fullback, Vaughan, did well to convert.
It was a spirited comeback which so nearly won the game, but it was not to be. It is at home to Bridgnorth next week when we might see Madondo Jabulo make his debut at second row.
Do come and lend your support.
Report by Gerry Sherry