This awakened The Elks who then hit back with tries from centre Owen Gregory and winger Craig Dixon, which levelled the scores at 12 each after 20 minutes.

A nasty head collision saw two RR players receive treatment, one of which required a trip to A&E.

Two more tries were scored by RR in quick succession as they moved the ball wide at every opportunity.

Ilkeston hit back before half time with Big Red scoring his trademark try by smashing over from 10 yards.

Half Time score 24 - 19.

The first half was a war of attrition as players from both sides received facial cuts. The second half was end to end stuff from the off, with both sides playing well in patches. Yet another facial injury saw Danny Purdy whisked off to A&E with a blood spattered broken nose.

Two tries from RR looked as if they were going to walk away with the game, but The Elks dug deep and recorded tries from Ash Chapman and Jon Doughty, who was a having a fine game at scrum half.

As play entered the last ten minutes RR looked to have put the game beyond reach, taking the score to 41-31.

However, The Elks put together their best spell of the game to score again through live wire hooker George Dawes.

Time ran out for The Elks as the ref blew for full time.

Final score Ilkeston 3's 36 - 41 Rolls Royce 2's.

A great game for the neutral, which was played in good spirit by both sides and credit goes to the referee, Simon Starr, who kept the game flowing and was consistent for both sides.

A much improved performance from The Elks, with stand out contributions from George Dawes, Simon Colton, Piers Connolly and Jimmy Smith.

Man of the Match went to Jon Doughty who put in an all round scrum half performance for 80 mins.

The Elks return to league action next week, making the tough trip to league leaders Mansfield 3's.