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What a difference a week makes
Midlands 4 East (North)
East Leake 26pts
JC Balls Belper 1st XV 23pts
AFTER a rousing win against top of the table Dronfield, Belper went into this match sound in the knowledge that a win was essential.
The previous encounter between the two sides was a tight and competitive encounter, with Belper eventually emerging victorious with an 18-16 win.
That match as with this one, was most certainly a tale of two halves.
Belper were rocked when Watson had to pull out last minute. This left the black and whites with only one substitute for the game and the return of Wayne and Woodward to the fold.
The visitors appeared to be up for the game and after kicking off, immediately piled pressure on the home team.
However, Leake soaked it up and let Belper know this was going to be a tough one.
The first score went to the home team who, after some strong play by the Belper forwards, were punished by a turnover ball, which Leake broke from and scored to the left of the posts.
This was duly converted, but Belper did not lose heart.
The restart went well with Gray pressuring the catcher well, forwards in support, Belper were able to turnover ball, a strong period of pressure ensued with good phases of forwards play, which Leake’s pack could not stop.
Leake found very early on that the only way to stop Belper was to pile through and slow the ball which they did to good effect. After several of these instances, the referee awarded a penalty which Blount scored to bring Belper back into the half.
What followed was a period of play that was primarily all Belper. Meakin took advantage of a quick ball from the ruck to break through the Leake line and put Belper in the lead. Belper then extended the lead from a Meakin chip that left two defenders fumbling around for as Smith duly slid in a relieved them of possession and five points.
Another penalty was scored by Blount as Belper began to make holes in the leaky defence and it was the skipper Dakin who extended the lead with a strong run brushing aside the Leake defence to score to the left of the posts.
Blount converted and half time was reached with Belper 23-7 ahead.
Belper sensed that Leake were still hungry, but they knew all that was required was a similar tempo and focus to see them through the half.
The hosts had other ideas and Leake emerged from the break similar to the previous encounter and piled the pressure on Belper.
The visiting forwards, who had seemed dominant in the first half, were being refereed out of the game and with Leake playing with gusto, holes in the Belper defence were exploited and black and white heads began to drop.
Leake piled on 19 points with no reply from Belper and had the run of the half, leaving them victorious and ending any realistic chance of Belper’s promotion this year.
The first half was one of Belper dominance. However, Leake did not give in and fought hard for their result against a visiting side that should have put them to the sword.
This Saturday, Belper travel to Castle Donington to play a rearranged league fixture.
Seconds
JC Balls Belper 2’s 5pts
Derby Vets 5pts
With a significantly depleted team, Belper played hard against an experienced and talented Derby side.
The result was a 5-5 draw in a hotly contested, close battle with both sides cancelling out the other, which the seconds deserve great credit for.
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Weather for Belper
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North
