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Following six straight defeats Belper recorded their first win of the season on Saturday in a hastily arranged fixture against Stoneygate from Leicester. They recorded seven tries whilst conceding only one. The early exchanges were rather frantic with neither side managing to establish their own pattern of play. Midway through the first half Belper opened the scoring with a try from John French who made the switch from scrum half to wing look effortless showing some great pace and good handling. This was quickly followed by a try for Paul Hastings. Stoneygate then put together a sustained period of pressure and a mistake by John Holmes and Andy Laven allowed them to score their only try of the afternoon, however both players would later atone for the error. Indeed Holmes carved through the Stoneygate defence just before half time to score Belper's third try.

Stoneygate made several changes at the start of the second half but it was to no avail. Laven started finding huge holes in the defence and crossed for two tries as Belper's forwards started winning plenty of possession. Tim Yule was rewarded for his outstanding work in the lineout with a try and right at the death after some good defensive work Belper broke away and Paul Buzzard scored his first try in Belper 1st XV colours. Steve Dymond chipped in with six conversions to make the final score 47 - 5.


Stoneygate 2nd XV 5 Belper RFC 1st XV 47 Following six straight defeats Belper recorded their first win of the season on Saturday in a hastily arranged fixture against Stoneygate from Leicester. They recorded seven tries whilst conceding only one. The early exchanges were rather frantic with neither side managing to establish their own pattern of play. Midway through the first half Belper opened the scoring with a try from John French who made the switch from scrum half to wing look effortless showing some great pace and good handling. This was quickly followed by a try for Paul Hastings. Stoneygate then put together a sustained period of pressure and a mistake by John Holmes and Andy Laven allowed them to score their only try of the afternoon, however both players would later atone for the error. Indeed Holmes carved through the Stoneygate defence just before half time to score Belper's third try. Stoneygate made several changes at the start of the second half but it was to no avail. Laven started finding huge holes in the defence and crossed for two tries as Belper's forwards started winning plenty of possession. Tim Yule was rewarded for his outstanding work in the lineout with a try and right at the death after some good defensive work Belper broke away and Paul Buzzard scored his first try in Belper 1st XV colours. Steve Dymond chipped in with six conversions to make the final score 47 - 5.

Belpers major fund raising campaign continues at pace with a club calendar going on sale for 2002 with all proceeds towards the 'National Lottery' bid for the new clubhouse and community centre and can be purchased at 'Amberstat' and 'Hair Design', both on Bridge Street, Belper, with other outlets in the town being explored.