Dronfield ll 32 – 21 Bingham

A lack of match sharpness after a break of a few weeks over the 6 nations led to a slow start and then left Bingham chasing the game

Bingham KO and win an early scrum but then allow Dronfield an easy out with a couple of penalties and from the following attack, Dronfield take the lead with a penalty with the ball going over off the upright

12 mins after a lot of Dronfield possession the home team picked up loose ball and were able to get wide quickly and despite some good scrambling defence, scored in the corner 8 – 0

Bingham get a penalty on the 10m and Will Packer just short with the attempt

Will Packer moves to scrum half on 18 minutes as Anthony Thomas forced off. Ollie Dodge into the backs. Jack Barnard playing out of position at 12 and then into 10 linking well with Will Packer but very limited ball for Bingham to put any meaningful pressure on Dronfield

A counter from Dronfield after a turnover and a try extends the lead to 13 – 0 and then fail with a penalty shortly after.

With 10 mins to go Bingham start getting more of a foothold after 30 mins of defence but suffer what was a killer blow after a chip & chase was collected by the Dronfield full back calling a mark and as the Bingham attack stopped, the referee allowed Dronfield to play on and allowed him to run round the 1st line of defence and then pass wide as Pete Coppack & Chris Pearman made valiant efforts to stop the score as supporters claimed they forced the Dronfield winger to step in touch. 18 – 0

Bingham restart and take a quick tap when awarded a penalty and showed some good hands to get the ball wide to Adam Deal who was stopped about 5 m out. Resultant Bingham possession drove the ball forward with Will Packer breaking the line and again just short but support got there and Chris Bell got over. Jack Barnard added the conversion with Will Packer almost out on his legs. Half time.

Dronfield attack early in the 2nd half but after a rallying call at half time Bingham tackling was far more effective not allowing Dronfield to gain quick possession or territory and forced Dronfield to kick but the ball bounced straight into the centres hands and wrong foot the defence. 25 – 7

Sean Richardson came onto the flank and immediately made an impact with quick feet, breaking the defence and hard tackling. Bingham pressure led to a string of Dronfield penalties and after a series of drives, Bingham get the ball to jack Barnard to score. Will Packer adds the conversion. 25 – 14

Harry Lister then off with a bang to his hand and move to uncontested scrums as Dronfield lose a couple of props to injury

Nathan Hartland makes a great turnover and Sean Richardson makes a telling break leading to a spell of sustained possession and overall much better performance. Jack Barnard also making some telling runs as confidence rises and Jack is just short but Mick Challans is there to pick up and dive over. Will Packer adds the extra 2 points and from an improbable position, Bingham are back in it trailing 25 – 21 and Dronfield seemingly rattled.

James Seagrave also on in the 2nd half showed glimpses of footwork and Dave Fairchild on in the front row.

With 10 mins to go Dronfield put several phases together and some great tackling & determination kept them out until ultimately, they had men over to score 32 – 21.

Bingham finished the game on top after Nathan Hartland once again made a telling turnover and great pressure and ball retention enabled Jack Barnard to find a gap but in crossing the line under the posts lost control. A score which would have got us 2 losing points and a game of could have beens.

To be fair Dronfield were the better team over the course of the game and Bingham were lacking match fitness & sharpness. That said the whole squad had game time and fun on the way back on the minibus.