Belper 1st XV 42pts Boots 1st XV 0pts NLD Shield
Belper bounced back after last week's defeat by
Melbourne to achieve this crushing win against Boots in the NLD Shield first
round.
Earlier this season the two sides drew when they met in the league but it was
all one way traffic in this meeting.
The floodgates opened in the 25th minute when Belper skipper Ed O'Dell went
over for the first try which was converted by Steve Dymond.
The skipper then set up Jason Cotton for Belper's second try which gave them
a 12 - 0 half - time lead.
Belper increased the pressure after the break and further tries were scored
by Merv Holmes and Anthony England before O'Dell touched down again.
Belper's man of the match Mike French regularly smashed holes in the Boots defence
as the home side built on the strong foundations established
by their forwards.
Belper 1st XV 42pts Boots 1st XV 0pts NLD Shield
Following last week's disappointing defeat by Melbourne
and the fact that they only drew with Boots earlier in the season in the league,
Belper knew that
they must raise their game in order to progress in the cup.
Sporting new Brook Bond sponsored kit, the early exchanges saw little pattern
to the game, with neither side producing anything other than a lot of effort.
After 25 minutes, play moved to Boot's 22 metre area, and forward pressure saw
the ball pop up for skipper Ed O'Dell to dive over for the opening try, converted
by Steve Dymond.
Boots restarted the game by kicking the ball straight back to Ed O'Dell, who
bludgeoned his way through their whole pack and was only stopped just short
of
the line, where he passed to Jason Cotton, who flew over in the corner to give
Belper a 12 - 0 lead, held until half time.
Playing down the slope in the second half, Belper totally dominated, scoring
four more tries and firstly two Steve Dymond penalties, given away by the visitors
for defensive offenses at rucks.
Immediately following the second of these the back row of Mick Laven and Ed
O'Dell set up Merv Holmes who spurted 30 metres through the cover defence to
score under the posts, with Dymond converting.
With man of the match Mike French smashing holes in the Boots' midfield defence,
setting up winning mauls or setting free other backs, Belper looked like
scoring wherever the forwards provided the ball.
This they did with increasing regularity, either from scrums won by Val Morrell,
supported by Alan Mayes and Mike Wild, whilst Mike Phelan threw up lineout
jumpers so well that by switching their positions, Merv Holmes, Ed O'Dell and
Tim Yule won a constant stream of possession.
Following a break by replacement Alistair Teager, winger Anthony England smashed
through a tackle for a try and then England repeated the action following
a five metre scrum.
Finally, Alan Mayes bulldozed to within scoring distance of the line and skipper
O'Dell was, as usual, on hand to score the final try converted by the reliable
Dymond.
This form must be maintained in the ensuing league fixtures.
Belper 3rd XV 7pts Matlock 3nd XV 27pts
After reasonably even early exchanges , Belper
took the lead.
Scrum half Paul Thomas dummied to open the play, but switched to the blind side,
from where Simon Teager set off on a long run for the line, followed by two
covering
defenders. Side steps and dummy passes saw him outwit both defenders, so that
neither actually managed to put a hand on, whilst he also had quick thinking
full back Dave Taylor in support.
Fly half Andy Birchett converted, but that was to prove the end of Belpers scoring
for the day.
By half time Matlock had taken a 10 - 7 lead, and in trying to catch up, Belper
left themselves open too much and allowed Matlock to extend their lead during
the second half.
The power of front row Phil Robinson, Andy Ryan and Dean Law was nullified early
on by a Matlock injury which caused a reshuffled front row, leading to non-contested
scrums.
Bullocking runs in the pack by Chris Smith and slick handling by Carl Chandler
all proved to no avail as Belper failed to break down the visitors' defence.