Under 7’s
Matlock v Belper & Tupton
The Christmas Crazies were well and truly in full force this week, bringing all the bubbly festive energy we could have hoped for!
We welcomed Belper (4 players) and Tupton (5 players) to take on a fantastic 16 Matlock players, who split into four teams with three games running at once. There were lots of tries from all three teams, plenty of smiles, and some brilliant rugby on show throughout.
With Matlock teams playing each other on one pitch, our coaches made the most of the opportunity by delivering some great training alongside the games – calm, supportive, and full of encouragement as always.
We are so lucky to have such a sparky squad of players who turn up in great numbers week after week, backed by amazing coaches who keep everything running so smoothly.
A huge well done to everyone involved – players, coaches, and supporters – and we’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas ??

Under 10’s
U10s played Tupton and Belper at Cromford meadows today. With healthy competitive games played.
Mixed bag for Matlock regards performance wise, with our usual strengths of tackle and ruck deserting us at times allowing both Belper and Tupton easy ball.
However some good individual performances and nice strong running kept the scores close. However both Belper and Tupton won in the end as ball retention counted against us.

Under 12’s
U12s played in a 4-way tie with Mansfield, Uttoxeter & Tupton. In short, mini games, which historically we dont do very well in Up first, was Uttoxeter, and after a first half of what was probably our best all-around performance of the season. Matlock allowed Uttoxeter back into the game. But a great contest. MATLOCK 1- 3 UTTOXETER
Next up was Mansfield and another tight game in which Matlock just didn't get any go forward credit to the opposition. MATLOCK 0 -4 MANSFIELD
Onto Tupton in the final game. And a much more comfortable performance with Matlock lending Tupton players MATLOCK 7-2 TUPTON

Under 15’s
U15s played away at Burton, and started strong, working their way to a strong lead, with their usual mixture of defensive pressure, strong carries and slick handling leading to our fast runners finding the try line. At half time Matlock led 24-5.
The second half saw Burton actually playing their best players (they had given time to development players in the first half) which coincided with our usual 15 min dip in concentration, and tackling. Silly mistakes, poor tackling and 50/50 refereeing decisions all combined led to Burton recovering and outscoring Matlock 24-31. Matlock scored to make it 31-31, and then Burton scored with seconds to go. Final score 31-38 to Burton, and a proud performance from our boys in blue.