Playing down the pitch and with a slight wind advantage the Blues knew they had to start strong and this they did, dominating much of the quarter, but only managing to open the scoring after 21 minutes, when a series of forward drives sucked in the home defence and then Tom Bridgeman fed Joe Daniel who burst through the hole and scored near the posts making his own conversion a simple one.

Instead of this spurring on the Blues they seemed to relax their grip on the game and Ilkeston took full advantage to score 2 unconverted tries before the break to give them a 10-7 lead and make the Blues task a real tough challenge.

This proved to be the case and Ilkeston began to pin the visitors back and it was no surprise when they scored a converted try on the hour to open up a 10 point lead.

Despite their efforts the Blues could not break through, although they forced the home side to defend desperately at times and should probably have scored when a Bridgeman cross-field kick found players in space, but the ball was spilled and the chance went begging.

Worse was to follow when the referee clearly blew his whistle for an infringement near the Blues line, but then gave a try and blew his whistle a 2nd time when an Ilkeston forward dived on the loose ball, much to the bemusement of all around.

This effectively killed the game off and Ilkeston ran out deserved winners, showing that they are returning to form they showed last season. For the Blues, they need to learn to take full advantage of chances which come their way, and look after the ball better in contact situations. They will then give most sides in this division plenty of things to think about.

RAJ Man of the Match: Chris Chapman