I don't really think anyone expected such a try fest as the one we got on Sunday as our Green and White lads entertained Dronfield at The Bay. Perfect rugby weather conditions meant handling should be solid as the boys geared up for a rehearsal of the NLD Bowl final, due later in April.

The game gave us a total of 18 tries! Three of which were scored in the first five or six minutes by our lads, with Dronfield only touching the ball to put in at a scrum and throw in at the lineout, both touches resulting in the Green and Whites stealing the ball.

17 - 0 up after only a few minutes we were beginning to think it was going to be a long day at the office for Dronfield. But fair play to them, they switched on and stepped up, and we realised that when they had the ball, they were very dangerous. We dropped off tackles, and lost focus, perhaps over confidence from such a dominant start. Dronfield fired back, but they had their kicking boots on and halfway through the second half it was 22-14.

Brilliant yet frustrating to watch, it really was a game where attack far outweighed defence for both sides. There were still the usual shuddering hits; James M in particular taking a leaf out of Josh's book and repeatedly cutting Dronfield attackers in half if they dared challenge around the breakdown. It became apparent that if a hole was left though someone was skipping through it.

For our green and whites going forward Matty and Dan were on fire, drawing, beating and offloading, releasing our speed merchants to cause havoc. Again huge fair play to Dronfield, the amount of last ditch tackles was impressive, however the support and offloading of our boys meant that at least four of our tries involved the supporting player travelling less than a yard to dot down.

Half time saw the game much closer than it perhaps should have been, Corsairs definitely having left their conversion kicking boots at home, and Dronfield had their tails up 32 - 26. Corsairs try count almost double that of Dronfield, but Dronfield were popping over the extras.

Second half was much of the same, when we put our minds to it the phased attacking rugby was simply superb, some of the offloads were fantastic and in the set piece our pack was unstoppable. Yet still every time we gained a comfortable lead we took our foot off the gas, and Dronfield do not lie down and roll over.

What was noticeable was the breaks Dronfield did make, took place in the middle of the pitch, often allowing for a 20 metre plus run in, which in turn meant going in under the posts. Our tries were crafted phase play, often going over in the corner. This hurt us in conversions.

A final score of 68 - 40 was just phenomenal, Dronfield only missing one kick from 6, we missed 10. I seriously don't think the lads on the pitch (from both sides) could have covered more grass if they tried.

A final note of how good the spirit of the game was. Only two penalties all match, and a referee who noted that even after thunderous tackles, the boys from both teams were helping each other up and making sure they were alright. That is such a credit to both sides.

Outstanding; roll on the cup final!

Nottingham Corsairs RFC

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