Matlock 48 v Rotherham 5

Matlock 48 v Rotherham 5

Rotherham made the trip south to Cromford Meadows to take on Matlock. An early try from Matlock as the forward secured good ball for the backs to pass along the line for speedster Tom Lawrence to go over in the corner. Three minutes later the ball ended in Lawrence's hands for him to take his second which was converted nicely by Sam Page giving a 12-0 lead. Matlock had total dominance as they ran at Rotherham with harry Boyd crashing over and Page kicking the conversion. Quick ball from James Pooley found John Statham out on the wing to score in the corner, he was again on the score sheet as he picked up the ball to make a strong run and go over with Sam Page taking the extra two. Rotherham managed a try just on the stroke of half time after some sleepy defence by Matlock.

The second half Rotherham came out fighting and for the first 10 minutes until Matlock settled down with Andrew Eastwood straightening up the drifting attack to score. Andrew Eastwood was again on the score sheet from possibly the try of the game as he took the ball from almost his own line and stepped many tackles to score under the posts giving Sam Page an easy kick. Joe Cruttenden took a knock moving George Healy to number 8, it wasn't long before he bulldozed over for the last try of the game giving Matlock a comfortable win of 48-5.