In 1771 Sir Richard Arkwright ‘invented’ the factory system in the village of Cromford. 252 years later the descendants of the Mills across the road welcomed the Boys from Burton to play a game of rugby. There would be no spinning jenny to help them. The croft lies in the shadow of Dunstall Hall, former home of the son of Sir Richard Arkwright, but the Boys from Burton are in this shadow no more!
The boys came out looking confident on the back of recent performances and were able to bounce back after an early try, in part due to the aerial acrobatics of Johnny keeping the ball alive. The first half saw tries by both teams and Matlock entering the break ahead. We then got to witness a second half so very different to many we have seen before. Rather than allowing their heads to go down or resort to ill discipline the Burton Boys instead dug deep and battled to get back on top. The lead changed a number of times leading to a heart in mouth finish of 41-43.
It was a great team performance again that saw a number of try scorers including 2 for John and Josh who both seemed to have the power of the steam engines the village is famous for. Josh may even be questioning whether he has a future as a winger after the pitch length charge from a well caught kick off. It was also pleasing to see Jacob smash through under the posts having missed time again for injury.
Thank you to Matlock for hosting and their sportsman like attitude.
Match report by Paul.