Dronfield beat West Bridgford to maintain perfect home record

Dronfield ||Rugby Club forwards pause whilst waiting for play to resume after a West Bridgeford injuryDronfield ||Rugby Club forwards pause whilst waiting for play to resume after a West Bridgeford injury
Dronfield ||Rugby Club forwards pause whilst waiting for play to resume after a West Bridgeford injury
There was great expectation at Gosforth Fields when Dronfield 1st XV in second place welcomed Nottingham side West Bridgford currently third in Regional 2 North Midlands League.

What made it even more anticipated was that Dronfield were unbeaten at home and West Bridgeford had a 100% away record. The two sides were also the league's two highest points scorers with Dronfield on 411 and West Bridgford having scored 400.

It was expected that this would be a high scoring encounter . How wrong that proved to be !! The driving rain and very gusty wind meant that both sides were forced to adapt their style of play. Dronfield included Joe Farrell making his 165 appearance and becoming the club's most capped player.

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Dronfield completely dominated the first half with the visitors only venturing into the Dronfield 22 on one occasion in the 40 minute period. A combination of solid West Bridgford defence, handling errors and the selection at times of the wrong option meant that it was only in the dying minutes of the half that Dronfield went into the lead.

Dronfield Rugby Club on the attack against West BridgefordDronfield Rugby Club on the attack against West Bridgeford
Dronfield Rugby Club on the attack against West Bridgeford

They had had the opportunity to score mid way through the half when awarded a penalty in front of the posts but had as it turned out made the wrong call by choosingto maintain possession close to West Bridgford's try line only to waste a scoring opportunity. The eventual breakthrough came following a series of dominant scrums and mauls with the ball moving through hands to winger Jack Longden to score in the corner.

Jake Steade added the extra points with an excellent kick into the gale-force wind. Dronfield now led 7-0 at half timeIt was anticipated that West Bridgford would come more into the game with the elements and slope now in their favour and although they did venture into Dronfield's half on more occasions they were unable to penetrate the home side's excellent defence.

When Jake Steade gained possion in the West Bridgeford 22 his jinking run found gaps in their defence and his try increased the lead to 12-0With Dronfield keen to maintain momentum West Bridgeford were guilty of creating far too many breaks in play. Some were obviously for genuine injuries but some could be deemed as tactical breaks.

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As conditions deteriorated Dronfield added to their points tally with a penalty making the final score 15-0. To keep a clean sheet against such a usually high scoring side showed how solid Dronfield's defence was Credit must go to players on both sides for showing such commitment in what were atrocious conditions.

Joe Farrell making his 165 appearance for Dronfield Rugby Club  and becoming the most capped playerJoe Farrell making his 165 appearance for Dronfield Rugby Club  and becoming the most capped player
Joe Farrell making his 165 appearance for Dronfield Rugby Club and becoming the most capped player

Next week, as we begin the second half of the season, Dronfield are at home once again. The visitors will be Walsall who are at present in fifth place. It is hoped that conditions then will be more conducive to Dronfield's style of attacking rugby.

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