In what should have been an away fixture, Belper welcomed Melbourne to Strutt Fields and were looking for revenge after narrowly losing to them earlier in the season. As usual, Melbourne had a strong pack so ageing fly half, Captain Holmezy picked a set of forwards to deal with the threats, which unfortunately meant Mick Elove was dropped to the centres.

The game started much the same as the previous encounter had left off, with the Melbourne forwards trying to play a tight game and force Belper to concede yards. Captain Holmes's astute plan paid off and Belper began to win more and more ball with the excellent Josh and Tom Mathews disrupting Melbourne and stealing possession. It soon became clear that Melbourne defence was no match for the Belper backs, despite Mick Eloves presence, and it was from the breakdown, after a scintillating burst from Andy Laven and DSL, that Josh scored the first try.

As usual, from the kick off, Belper relaxed and almost immediately, a basic error from Mick Elove gifted Melbourne a try and the lead. Straight from the re-start, Belper advanced into the opposition half and once again, after a move which missed Mick Elove at inside centre, Dibber took the ball on, only to be tackled 1m short of the line. Once again Tom Mathews and Josh were quick to respond, with Josh forcing himself over for his 2nd try. Once again, from the restart, Belper relaxed and a knock on by Mick Elove gave Melbourne advantage, which they took, and scored under the posts. When Mick Elove "giggled" about his error, Captain Holmezy had a stern word with him. Mick continued to giggle inanely, and it became clear that he was out of his depth in the centres and that nerves were getting the better of him. Instead of the simple "head down, grunt and push" techniques that served him well in the forwards, he was unable to cope with the more technical "head up, run and pass" strategy of the backs. Not wanting to embarrass Mick further, Captain Holmezy decided to call "miss moves" as often as possible.

The new game plan worked well and once again Belper took the game by the scruff of the neck. From a lineout on the Melbourne 22m, Captain Holmezy sneaked into the line out and took a long throw and set off for the line. Being held just short gave Big Phil the opportunity to pick, drive and score in the corner. Further pressure led to a try for the ever scowling Dabber and 3rd try for Josh. Dai Griffiths kicked well missing just 1 conversion so Belper had a comfortable lead. Just before half time saw the move of the match with Belper defending a lineout 10m from their own line. The ball was won and despite everyone expecting the clearance kick, Captain Holmezy set off on a run that saw sidesteps, dummies and hand-offs that were simply majestic. As he stormed into the Melbourne 22m he remembered that his legs couldn't run that far and looked around for the non existent support. As he stumbled on, the resident sniper positioned on the Chevin took him out with a clean shot and Captain Holmezy hit the deck. Half time arrived and with the help of some excellent conversions by Dai Griffiths, Belper had a comfortable lead. A controlled and calm team talk at half time focused on all the good points and encouragement to continue. As Mick giggled, Blounty grabbed a precious 40 winks and Len Griffiths called for 50 points!

The second half was an altogether more one sided affair, with Belper being in complete control. They almost won ball with ease and pegged Melbourne back in their own 22m. Following a Belper scrum the ball was spun out along the line, missing Mick Elove, and with Andy Laven again appearing in the line caused an overlap that gifted Danny Stewart Lacey (all one player) an easy try in the corner. The game restarted and immediately Belper attacked with Big Phil storming up the pitch. Minger managed to support and drive the ball on before Pete Rose won the ball for Dai Griffiths to feed the backs. Again, the miss move worked and Andy Laven cut back inside to score a try. Melbourne were now a beaten side, however, to their credit, they stuck at it and despite borrowing Minger and Henry, still offered a threat. The second half continued with Belper winning all the loose ball and spinning it out. By this time Mick Elove's lack of fitness began to show and he kept turning up in places that he wasn't supposed to, so more often than not, the move broke down. Luke Ruggy took full advantage of missed clearance kicks to run the ball back and cause more problems and was unlucky not to get more ball, but Dubber had obviously grown too fond of it to pass it on.

As the game was halted whilst a new ball was delivered for the lineout, Captain Holmezy tried to talk to a bemused Mick Elove and offer guidance but the conversation was a lot harder and took more time than expected. The lineout was taken and the ball passed out with Captain Holmezy talking to his centre (??). Seeing the look of fright on Mick Eloves face as the ball rapidly approached, Captain Holmezy plucked the ball out of the air and turned the right way round. Seeing nothing on, he set off towards the line, and with the help of a dummy and a sidestep, carved his way through without anyone laying a finger on him to score under the posts.

The game finished with the score 50 - 14 to Belper so smiles all round. Once again, it was the younger players who excelled with Josh, Robbo, Ruggy, Phil, Danny and Tom all having excellent games. The difficult decisions will come next week when the regular centres return to the side. Surely it would be wrong to break up the young, fit, agile and strong back row after such a sterling performance just to accommodate Mick Elove, so there is the dilemma? Perhaps Mick should get used to holding a flag for a while!!