U12's beat both Long Eaton and a Derby side.

Ilkeston's first match was against Derby and from the start Ilkeston were on the attack and scored after only a few minutes through their captain Tom Briddon. It was pleasing to see the boys eager for the ball and putting Derby under a lot of pressure. Tom scored a second try before half time and Ilkeston were unlucky not to add another when Taylor, again playing really well, was help up over the Derby try line. There was some strong running by the forwards, particularly Antony and Taylor and some good work both in defence as well as attack. The backs were combining well and produced some good attacking moves. Jacob Keane added 2 further scores for Ilkeston to come out worthy winners 4 tries to nil.

The second game was against Long Eaton and again Ilkeston were on the attack from the start. Although Long Eaton had a big pack of forwards Ilkeston dominated the scrums and lineouts and it was not long before scores started coming. Jacob Keane scored two good tries and Taylor was finally rewarded for all his hard work in the forwards with two tries. Liam Gavin at fullback gave a good performance with some excellent catching and strong running and was rewarded with a good try. Finn scored a fine try after a good run down the wing and Jack also got on the score sheet. Welshy again gave a good performance in the second row and was rewarded with a try and could have had a second after a strong run down the wing. Antony showed what a difficult player he is to stop when he gets a head of steam up. Will, playing at centre, was unlucky not to score on a couple of occassions with some good runs. The final score in this match was Long Eaton 2 Ilkeston 8.

A special mention should be made to Calum, playing his first match for Ilkeston. He made a couple of strong runs and showed with time what an asset he could be to the forwards. This was a fine performance by the U12's and a good start to the build-up for the NLD finals in March.