For their 4th game of the new season Sutton 1st XV travelled to the picturesque ground of Matlock RFC, at Cromford Meadows, deep in the pretty landscape of Derbyshire and after trailing 13-0 with the break approaching, Sutton rallied and closed to 13-12 with two quick tries and a conversion on the stroke of halftime... and then went on to win 27-20 in a challenging second half.

The second half saw Sutton display their attacking skills and strong defence when needed plus belief and character as they navigated and overcame the twists and turns in a tense game that at times saw the best of the Sutton side and at other times showed their frailty in not finishing what they had created but the visitors finished the game on a high securing their second win of the season plus a bonus point, with much more to come.

As to the game itself Matlock kicked off on a dry and overcast day with occasional sunshine and the early play fluctuated between the respective 22 metre areas but after just 3 minutes of play Sutton's talented Zak Tyler, making a rare start in his favoured scrumhalf role, had set the tone for the game when he picked up at the base of a Sutton scrum on the halfway line and spotting a gap he raced through then chipped ahead to take play deep into the Matlock 22 threatening the try line. Unfortunately, the Matlock defenders regathered quickly and the chance was gone but the even-handed contest continued, with the home side having an edge in the early scrums edging Sutton back but Sutton performed well in the lineout gaining good possession to test their opponent's defence however, neither side troubled the scoreboard until on 13 minutes Matlock made the break through when they secured the ball at a scrum on the Sutton 22 on the left and then moving the ball infield from left to right outside centre Harry Boyd broke through a gap in the Sutton defence to score by the posts for the opening try.

Scrumhalf Tom Morton added the conversion to give Matlock a 7-0 lead, which he extended to 10-0 on 18 minutes when Sutton were penalised at the scrum and the scrumhalf landed the kick from 30 metres with 20 minutes to play to the break. Then, with halftime rapidly approaching Sutton fell further behind when the Matlock scrumhalf slotted another penalty from 30 metres out in midfield, after Sutton were penalised for hands in the ruck.

Facing a deficit of 13-0 with just minutes to play to the break, a fired up Sutton followed the restart kick deep into Matlock territory forcing a penalty in the right corner. Taking a quick tap Sutton drove towards the try line, sweeping left and Sutton's captain and no8 George Ord carried the ball over the try line by the posts to open the Sutton account with a Captains try. Sutton's fullback Matt Smith landed the conversion to close the score to 13-7 going into injury time at the end of the first half.

The referee reckoned there was enough stoppage time left to restart the game and so Sutton received the ball on their left wing and dynamic centre Tom McNamee made a block busting break down the left taking play into the Matlock 22, before quick support play by Sutton recycled the ball from left to right across the face of the posts to find tall second row Ollie Gregory lurking with intent on the right touch line. The young giant stretched his long legs to reach the try line and ground the ball superbly by reaching over the line in spite of the attention of would-be defenders. The difficult touchline conversion against the blustery wind was missed but Sutton had closed to 13-12 with everything to play for in what turned out to be a dramatic second half.

The second half started with Sutton on the attack and with not many minutes gone Sutton left wing Will Mitchell came close to scoring with a chip through but the referee judged that Matlock had won the race to ground the ball in the try area and awarded a drop out under the Matlock posts. The drop out was fielded in mid-field about 30 metres out by replacement Sutton centre Henry Nevitt, who had just come onto the field and with his first touch of the ball he weaved his way through the heart of the Matlock defence to score a spectacular try under the posts. Matt Smith added the conversion to take Sutton into the lead for the first time in the game at 19-13 with 8 minutes of the second half played.

The game then developed into a forward battle as Matlock applied sustained pressure on the Sutton try line and successive scrums led to several penalties against the Sutton pack, leading to a penalty try against Sutton plus a yellow card for a Sutton prop resulting from repeated team infringements, leaving Sutton with 14 players and a deficit of 20-19, with 22 minutes of the game left to play.

Showing their true character Sutton shrugged off the set back and strived to win back control of the game, which they did with outstanding defence, notably left wing Will Mitchell raced back to cover a chip through by Matlock preventing a certain score and successive attacks in the Matlock half won Sutton a penalty on the halfway line, which fullback Matt Smith landed with a superb 50 metre kick to reclaim the lead at 22-20 for Sutton, with 25 minutes of the second half played.

The next period of play was full of incident as both teams tried to find the magic moment that would turn the game in their favour, typically Sutton were under pressure and courageously tried to run the ball out from behind their own line but unfortunately as they broke clear they were called back for a forward pass! They defended the resulting 5 metre scrum and recovered the situation.

Then with 10 minutes to play Sutton fullback Matt Smith found that magic touch when he launched a long-range kick ahead and gave chase with the ball bouncing towards the Matlock try line. With the Matlock defenders and Matt Smith in hot pursuit as the ball crossed the try line it bounced away from the defender and Matt was able to dive and ground the ball cleanly for the match winning try and a bonus point for a fourth try. The difficult right sided conversion was missed but Sutton had extended their lead to 7 points rather just the 2 points, with 10 minutes of intense playing time left to defend their lead.

Again, the final period of play ebbed and flowed but Sutton held strong and maintained their discipline in the closing period to celebrate their well earned victory.

With the unfortunate arm/shoulder injury sustained the previous weekend by established prop, mainstay and ball carrier Peter Pilling preventing his selection for a number of weeks to come, Sutton were grateful that Conor Madden, who joined the Sutton club in the summer to coach the Ladies Team, agreed to register as a player last week to provide cover for the front row and he played an important part in the team's success against Matlock.

Once again good fortune smiled on a less than perfect performance by Sutton 1st XV last weekend but they played enough good rugby and showed enough enterprise to deserve the 27-20 bonus point victory, with clearly more to come when they release their full potential.

This weekend Sutton welcome Leicester Forest RFC to the RSG, Walmley Road to continue the 2022/23 league campaign and with Sutton sitting 6th in the league and Leicester 8th it should be another entertaining contest. All support welcome. KO 3pm.