Their opponents were Staffordshire based side Tamworth who have struggled throughout the season. Dronfield knew that to have any chance of becoming champions of their league Midlands Regional Two (North), they needed to gain maximum points from this fixture and hope that rivals Lichfield lost their home match against Old Saltleians. Unfortunately, only one team will be promoted to Midlands One , the top Regional League in the Midlands.
Conditions at Gosforth Fields were near perfect for running rugby and it didn’t take long for Dronfield to open their account with Jake Steade using his speed, down the blindside, to score in the corner.
Tamworth then came more into the game but were unable to penetrate Dronfield’s solid defence. On their next visit to Tamworth’s 22, it was Jake Steade again, who was on hand in support to score his second try which he converted to give the home side a 12-0 lead . Once more Tamworth had a period of possession, but their attack lacked a cutting edge and when they lost possession again, a breakaway converted try from Reika Mahmid widened the home side’s lead to 19-0.
Whenever they had the ball Dronfield looked dangerous and when Reika Mahmid grappled the ball from his opposing winger, he sprinted the 30 metres to the try line unopposed to give Dronfield their fourth try, a try bonus point and a 26-0 lead. Before half time full back Andy Hodgson joined in the line to score for Dronfield and Tamworth were awarded a penalty try when the referee deemed that a Tamworth player was certain to score had it not been for an illegal tackle even though other Dronfield players were still in a position to stop the attack The half time score was now 38-7.
The second half followed a similar pattern with Tamworth when in possession, unable to find gaps in Dronfield’s defence. Whereas In contrast, the home side looked dangerous whenever they had the ball in hand.
Their support play was outstanding as were their fitness levels, They continued to score at regular intervals, due in part to the fact that when in possession there always seemed to be a colleague up in support ready to receive the ball. At the final whistle they had had a convincing victory with further tries coming from Reika Mahmid ( giving him five in total), Ben Martin who seemed totally at home when he moved into the backs, Lucas Rushton and Jack Longden .
Jake Steade in addition to his two tries was successful with eight of his conversions The final score was 76-7 and this meant that, at their home ground Gosforth Fields this league season, they were only defeated on one occasion.
Later when the league ‘s other results were known Dronfield found that their rivals for the title Lichfield, had gained a narrow home victory over Old Saltleians This meant they would be promoted and Dronfield would remain playing their league rugby at Level 6. To finish second in this league was a tremendous effort from Dronfield Their aim next season will be to finish one place higher and get promoted as champions to the top Rugby Union regional league in the Midlands. They will be hoping to retain the quality players who have represented them this season and will also hope to reinforce their squad with additional players who would wish to join a side playing at the highest level of any team in North Derbyshire.
