Nottingham 33-26 Hartpury (Rugby Championship) 14.02.20

Nottingham Rugby were victorious for the third successive Championship match as they beat Hartpury University in a Friday night thriller at the Bay.

In a game that ebbed and flowed the away side would start much better of the two teams as they raced to a 0-14 lead early in the first half.

Simpson went over after ten minutes for the games first try which was converted by Bragman before Goatley got the Gloucester based sides second of the night on 25. With the extra points kicked Nottingham faced a mammoth task to get into the match but the response was immediate as Dolly responded on 28. O’Leary kicked the extras against the post and wide but with four minutes remaining of the half Heffernan went over with a try which was this time converted and the two sides went in at the break separated by just two points.

In the second half it was Nottingham out of the blocks quickest awarded a penalty on 52 as O’Leary again hit the outside of the post but the home side were awarded a penalty try shortly after a huge driving maul down the left wing.

With advantage Green & Whites Sean Scanlon went over in the right hand corner and with O’Leary’s kicking boots back on the score was 26-14 with under 20 minutes to play.

Things got even better for Nottingham when Williams went over down the left and with the extras converted Nottingham had a 19 point lead on 66 minutes.

Hartpury though are a gritty side and their tenacity ensures they’ll fight to the end and that they did. Goatley narrowed the margin on 69 with Bragman converting to bring the score to 33-21 before a late try by Tanner ensured it would be a nervy few minutes for Nottingham which thankfully they would pull through.

After the game Coach Neil Fowkes stated “The boys were incredibly tough tonight. To work their way back in to the game after going 14-0 down and to come away with a bonus point is fantastic, I’m really proud of them.”

Next up for Nottingham is Doncaster next Friday at the Bay in the Championship Cup Quarter Final.

Starting Team: Sean Scanlon, David Williams, Will Millett, Luke Peters, Jack Spittle, Shane O’Leary, Murray McConnell, Aniseko Sio, Luke Cole, Oisin Heffernan, Llewelyn Jones, Seb Cecil, Tui Uru, Will Owen, Josh Poullet.

Replacements: Ben Brownlie, Tom Hill, Karl Garside, Ollie Chessum, Jordan Coughlan, Alex Dolly, Will Simmonds, Ben Foley.

*Main image @NottinghamRugby star player Jack Spittle will be in action for the Green & Whites.