In what was arguably the game of the year, Derwent hung on to their unbeaten record by the narrowest of margins. A powerful ‘Fax side responded to an early Freddy Harris try by storming into a 24-8 lead, with 20 minutes left on the clock however, the defending champions scored two late converted tries as well as a penalty to crush Halifax hopes of a defining victory.
The early kick-off of 10:30 was not for the faint hearted. Both sides had warmed up to the best of their ability and awaited the whistle on a still, quite icy pitch. Blues’ Oliver Wessely got proceedings underway as his side looked to keep up their 100% record this year.
Derwent were ahead within ten minutes in atypical fashion. From a Halifax scrum, Freddy Harris pounced on a loose pass from the usually imperious Andy Cox beating James McNeill to the bounce to score quite a fortuitous try.
Wessely hooked the resulting conversion wide, but was more accurate with his next attempt. A clearance kick pushed Fax back into their half right from the kick-off where they gave away a penalty which the Derwent fly-half knocked over for an 8-0 lead.
Halifax responded emphatically, Rishi Naidoo called up to answer Halifax front row problem, justified his selection. The nifty prop made space for himself on the blindside of a ruck. His unanswerable power and surprisingly quick feet let him break away from the Derwent defenders and he ran in a try from 40 metres, James McNeill intersected the uprights without the use of a kicking tee.
Halifax, many people’s underdogs for the game, found belief in their linear play as Derwent’s play dwindled. The Fax dominance was merited by a try to go ahead in the match.
A Derwent clearance kick that was heading for the touchline was swallowed up by the Halifax full back; the ball found its way to Captain McNeill who went on a weaving run, his clever pass out wide found forward Tim Ross who ran over to score. However, McNeill missed the resulting kick to send his side further ahead.
It was not to be the final say in the first half, the Derwent side who had looked unbeatable earlier in the term were being taken apart by a McNeill-marshalled Halifax side.
The fly-half left his best work till the end as instead of kicking to touch off a penalty he found the space behind the Derwent defensive line, the kick well kindly to Ross who to the delight of his team went over again, McNeill notched the conversion to send his side into a 19-8 lead at half-time.
The second half started like the last half had finished with Halifax in command. From a set-piece their pack drove to the line, despite the resistance of Hugo Marino, his opposite number Santiago Parilli was unstoppable from two yards.
Halifax who had won last year’s sevens tournament now found themselves with a 16 point lead at 24-8. From the spectators’ outlook it looked like Derwent could not get back into the tie. Halifax had kept on to the ball when they had it, and had forced their opponents to kick throughout the day.
However, through dogged determination Derwent regrouped and a kicked penalty forced Halifax into the corner from which Captain Tolga Necar caught the line-out to initiate the drive. Alex Littlechild, back on after twisting his ankle earlier, took on the ball and fended off a number of tackles to power over the line, a successful conversion pushed the score to 24-15 with fifteen minutes remaining.
Derwent knew they had to play the game in the Halifax half to maintain the momentum. The added pressure of defending in your own half told as Halifax gave away another penalty, and with the clock ticking Wessely called for the tee, subsequently knocking the ball over from close range, 24-18.
Derwent were pushing for the converted try which would see them overtake Halifax, however a knock on from the kick off played to their opponents favour. Halifax knocked the ball deeper into the Derwent half but the blues were equal to their pressure.
Within their own half, the Derwent backs decided to run with the ball, Oscar Wimshurst found space and launched a kick downfield. The ball went to and fro before a measured Derwent kick put try-scorer Manelli under pressure to touch down and concede a five metre scrum. However, Halifax were equal to the Derwent push and cleared their lines.
From the resulting line-out, Derwent got what they were after with a similarly powerful run from Chris Judge. The gym monkey handed off a few tacklers and piled over the line to send his team to within a point of their opposition. With a steady boot, fly half Wessely sent his team into an unbelievable 25-24 lead as his conversion crept over the posts.
This was not the end of the drama. Halifax, with a point to prove, kicked off with three minutes remaining. A period of intense pressure followed where Derwent conceded a penalty, with the referee stating it would be the last move of the match, Halifax captain McNeill made the brave call to opt for a scrum. However, his decision was not to pay off, after a series of intense, physical phrases, the ball was carried out of play to bring to an end the titanic bout.
McNeill was disconsolate, his side had been the superior for the majority of the game, but somehow were denied victory. He hoped his side would move into the rest of the term’s fixtures knowing they’d given Derwent an absolute run for their money.
Victorious Captain Tolga Necar was in disbelief at the final whistle. He acknowledged the Halifax side who had made the game it was, and praised his sides incredible determination to come back from the jaws of defeat.
Vision MOTM: Alex Littlechild