Burton Too Strong For Neighbours Derby In Papa John’s Community Cup

Meetings between Burton and Derby have generally been close affairs in the past few seasons with the latter enjoying a very late win on a number of occasions. Burton were seeking revenge for just such a defeat in their last meeting a few weeks ago and had the opportunity in the first round of games in this seasons Papa John’s Community Cup this weekend. Following the recent spell of very wet weather, it was pleasing to see dry, but windy conditions at Battlestead Croft. It was also pleasing to see the long-awaited return to first team action for Josh Cartwright at second row, who has been performing very well in the A team for some time.
Derby kicked off the game with the wind at their backs and an attempted clearance kick from Burton held up badly in the driving wind and it was clear that any kicking option would be limited to an absolute necessity in the first half. With this in mind Burton began to build the phases of play as they made their way back to halfway before losing possession. Burton were then penalised for crossing and Derby made their first visit to the Burton “22”. The home defence stood strong as Derby attempted to move the ball wide and a wayward pass led to a lineout to Burton midway between the “22” and the tryline.
The lineout was secured with ease and Burton were soon putting one of their strong rolling maul moves into action. James Davies broke from the maul and then fed the supporting Tristan DeJager who used his power and pace to outstrip the Derby defence and score to the right of the posts after 5 minutes. Dom Phillips found the wind too much to handle as his kick was just wide of the mark, but Burton had an early lead. Burton 5-0 Derby.
The Derby re-start did not go the required 10 metres and Burton opted for a scrum on the halfway line. Derby were penalised at this scrum and Will Simpson kicked for a lineout midway between the visitors’ 10-metre line and “22”. The catch and drive took Burton into the visitors’ “22” but Derby managed to keep Burton away from the try line and eventually won themselves another scrum. Derby then retained possession for several phases of play, but Burton applied good pressure without the ball and Derby found it very difficult to make any headway. Possession exchanged hands a couple of times and Derby eventually cleared to their own 10-metre line.
The Burton throw was judged to be not straight, although how anyone could keep it straight in that wind is any body’s guess. Burton were then adjudged to drive early in the scrum and Derby were able make their way into the Burton half, but their advance was halted as they were penalised for holding on. A good kick to touch took Burton back into the visitors’ “22” and signalled the start of some severe pressure on their’ try line. The Derby defence was only able to hold on so long before a clever break from Chaz Bunting opened them up and passed to DeJager who demonstrated his pace once again to score his and Burton’s second try of the game with about 18 minutes played. Phillips was not to be outdone by the wind this time as he struck a much more difficult penalty beautifully to give Burton a 12-point lead. Burton 12-0 Derby.
Burton were soon on the attack again as great work at the breakdown from Dom Taylor was rewarded with a penalty just inside his own half and then the penalty was moved 10 metres further forward due to backchat from the visitors’ ranks. From this Simpson kicked to just outside the visitors’ “22”. Burton looked hungry to add to their score and set about another catch and drive move on the right. As the ball was recycled to centre field an attempted drop goal missed horribly and the ball was touched down by the Derby defence. However the resulting drop out from the “22” was a little over ambitious as it too went dead at the Burton end, meaning play restarted with a Burton scrum on the Derby “22”.
Burton looked to keep the pressure on the Derby defence but were denied by some excellent Derby defending as they threatened seriously. Burton’s 3rd try was not to be denied as they moved the ball left to right and then back to the left when a long pass from Simpson found Phillips in some space and he scored in the corner after 26 minutes. Phillips conversion effort was again blown off course by the wind, but Burton looked firmly in control of the game at this stage. Burton 17-0 Derby.
With their tails now up Burton were soon on the attack again and a brilliant break by Will Derry took play from the Burton “22” to the visitors’ 5 metre line only for a knock on to deny Burton securing their bonus point try. The pressure was now relentless as Burton went in search of more points. It seemed only a matter of time that the inevitable would happen but not before what looked like a successful dominant scrum drive and try was denied by the referee, who ordered the scrum to be reset for no obvious reason? Eventually Cyrus Griffiths came off his left wing and scored just to the left of the posts after 33 minutes to secure the bonus point. Phillips again added the conversion. Burton 24-0 Derby.
Burton were awarded a penalty for illegal entry at the ruck, and they were again into the visitors’ half threatening to run riot. Although Derby relieved any immediate pressure, getting back to almost halfway, this was only a temporary let up as Burton were soon knocking on the door again following a high tackle in the danger zone. Taylor this time was the Burton scorer after another catch and drive was converted. Phillips was unable to add the extras, but Burton had moved on to 29 unanswered points. Burton 29-0 Derby. Derby rallied and had a real go at the home defence just before the break but Knocked on as they looked likely to score in the last play of the half.
The second half got underway with Griffiths catching his own teams’ kick off and when the ball was recycled from a breakdown, a kick to the 5-metre line on the right. With the wind now in their faces Derby were forced to run the ball out from this deep position and were pinned back in this area and Burton were awarded a scrum as the ball became stuck in the ruck. Derby were penalised again for offside shortly after and Burton went to touch gave Burton themselves the opportunity to launch their “go to” catch and drive move. Successfully launched it was Davies who got the touchdown this time just 3 minutes into the second period. Phillips’ conversion attempt just drifted wide, but Burton looked on the way to a big winning margin. Burton 34-0 Derby.
With the result in little doubt now it was time to start making changes to give all the replacements some valuable game time. However, the changes took a little time to settle in and as a consequence the game became a little scrappy and disjointed for a period of time. Derby started to enjoy a short period of possession, but they too were struggling to cope with the conditions and were guilty of overplaying/trying too hard to get their game going. Whilst the game was fiercely competitive the aggression on both sides was very well controlled. Burton were then reduced to 14 players as Simpson was shown a yellow card. Following this Burton then had to replace George Abel who sustained what looked like a shoulder injury, whilst Derby were also forced to make a change due to injury at the same time.
Of the two sides it was Derby who adapted quicker, and they scored their first try of the game after 19 minutes, with some great running and offloading opening up the Burton defence. Again the wind got the better of the kicker’s attempt. Burton 34-5 Derby. Despite the scoreline it was Derby who now began to dominate possession, possibly as Burton just relaxed a little, and looked the most likely to add to their score. With the wind at their backs Burton found it easier to clear their lines with long kicks and stop Derby from building a head of steam through good game management.
Burton were to create one further scoring opportunity as DeJager and Derry linked well to breakthrough the Derby defence, but for the latter to be tackled illegally as he looked certain to score on the right. A yellow card was shown to the guilty Derby player and a penalty try awarded. Burton 41-5 Derby. To their credit Derby did not take their foot off the pedal and continued to try and add to their score. After a prolonged period of possession they were rewarded with their second try of the game with the last play. The conversion was unsuccessful, and the final score was Burton 41-10 Derby. In the other pool game today Wirral beat Syston 41-21, with Burton playing Syston next week. Burton top the table on points difference with 2 games to play in the pool stage. Man of the match could have been one of a number of players but Will Derry got the nod for an excellent all round game in the centre.