ELKS TRIUMPH IN THRILLER

Man of the Match – Greg Taylor

As local derbies go this one had all the ingredients which make such encounters so keenly anticipated. Crunching tackles, a full array of high level skills and the odd show of petulance combined to keep the large crowd on their toes and holding their breath well into injury time.

The visitors cruised into what looked like a comfortable twelve point lead with only twelve minutes gone, courtesy of two Spencer tries and a Burrows conversion. The scores had come against the run of play and served to galvanise the home side into action. They gradually clawed their way back into the game and provided a pulsating finish, drawing level with one minute of normal time left and securing a deserved victory in the seventh minute of injury time, a total of ten being played in the second half.

Whilst never at their flowing best and despite experiencing early problems in the scrums and line out the Elks showed patience and determination to break down a resolute Derby defence and finally claim the spoils. Victories are built on the ability to defend and the home side owed much to the turnovers provided by Scott Rudkin, Adam Corcoran, Steve Mahoney and Rich Burne.

As the game wore on and legs tired the spaces appeared which were exploited to the full by the Taylor brothers with two tries to Greg and one to Dan. Fly-half JJ Connolly worked to create gaps for his runners and his tactical kicking constantly pinned Derby inside their own half.

The Elks started strongly and could have taken an early lead when Ben Gatehouse broke through midfield and earned a penalty which Jono Falls pulled wide from twenty four metres. As they continued to press Rudkin appeared to have found space on the outside but the ball was spilt in the tackle and Spencer hacked on. As the ball bounce it evaded Jono Falls and fell into Spencer’s hands and with a dive into the corner he secured the try with six minutes gone.

Failure to find touch with a clearance kick after ten minutes led to a second Derby try on ten minutes when Blake fielded the ball and moved it infield where Robertson found enough space to place a deft grubber kick in behind the defence. The bounce favoured Spencer again as he claimed his second try with Burrows’ conversion opening a twelve point gap and posed questions of the Elks’ ability to cope at this level. The final score gave the answers but it did take the length of the game to establish that they had made the step up and should be able to live in this league.

From the restart the home side were given an opportunity to reduce the arrears but Jono Falls pushed his effort wide. The margin of twelve points had put a spring in Derby’s step but resolute Elks’ defence limited their opportunities. As the visitors turned the screw in the scrum Andrew Chapman and Burne found it difficult to make the most of the possession from the base. Likewise the lineout was experiencing problems as Mahoney took time to adjust to his new role of throwing the ball in and a series of back ball calls presented him with further difficulties. A tendency to hang off rucks also cost the Elks possession, slowed it down long enough, to allow Derby to pack the midfield areas and deny space to the outside runners.

Once these issues had been addressed the Elks began to show touches of true form. The Taylor brothers broke from their own half and combined with Craig Charlton, Jason Falls and Simon Bennett to take play into the opposition twenty two but the ball was lost at ensuing ruck. Buoyed by the knowledge that Derby were vulnerable to quick ball moved wide the Elks upped the pace with Greg Taylor, Jono Falls and Gatehouse all exploiting gaps. A high tackle on Gatehouse, following a flowing move involving Bryn Vernon, Burne and Corcoran, gained a penalty which Connolly converted to make it 3 -12 at the break.

As the second half started Charlton retired with a shoulder injury and was replaced with the evergreen Gordon Pringle as the Elks started to make the best use of the slope. Within two minutes the arrears were further reduced when Dan Taylor fielded a miss hit clearance, launched a garryowen, chased and forced Derby to concede a five metre scrum. Pringle, Mahoney and Jason Falls supplied solid ball which Burne picked and drove forward. A quick ruck allowed Chapman to give Connolly time and his pass found Dan Taylor. With men outside he opted for the dummy and dashed over. A missed conversion left the score at 8-12.

With the deficit of less than a try the Elks could scent victory but Derby were not about to lay down without a fight. However, the Elks created promising situations, notably by Connolly who stepped his way through heavy traffic and Rudkin whose ability to shimmy through a gap and stay on his feet provided second phase ball. Derby’s defence, however, was always on hand to deny the home side.

As the game moved into the final quarter fresh legs were introduced with debutant Sam Patel replacing Gatehouse and Paul Shoebridge replacing the fast developing Bennett. Both had earned the loud applause as they took a well earned rest. Bennett a product of the Elks’ development side will surely establish himself as a first team squad member and Gatehouse will have enjoyed his part in the game against his old Club from whom he signed in the summer.

Derby’s determination to cling on to the game was rewarded when they stole an Elks lineout , earned a penalty and converted it to stretch their lead to 8-15 with only ten minutes left on the clock. The Elks could have capitulated but their repost was superb. Adam Stoker’s work earned a scrum inside Derby’s half. The was secured and spun wide to Patel, whose footwork along the far touch line would have grace Strictly Come Dancing as he left defenders floundering. When the tackle came he stayed on his feet long enough to allow Corcoran and Shoebridge to secure the ball which was quickly moved back across the field. Greg Taylor found a gap and powered over. Connolly converted to level the scores at 15-15 with thirty nine minutes gone. As the game entered injury time Derby must have felt that they would escape with a share of the spoils but the Elks had other ideas.

From deep inside his own half Burne instigated a break out. Superb handling and inter-passing from Vernon, Dan Taylor, Jono Falls and Greg Taylor gave Patel another chance to stretch his legs. He earned a penalty close to touch and Connolly put the ball into the corner for a five metre lineout. Stoker secured the ball which was mauled towards the Derby line. Their defence was sound but the ball was secure and Chapman fed it to Connolly. He darted through a gap and had the presence of mind to offload in the tackle to Greg Taylor who touched down under a sea of defenders. Connolly missed the conversion which left the home side with a five point lead to defend as referee Sturton played what seemed an age of injury time. Derby tries to level but the Elks’ resolve could not be broken and when the final whistle did arrive they celebrated a fine 20-15 victory.

Next week sees the Elks at Dunstablians - k.o. 15:00