Sitting fifth in the RFU Championship, ahead of their home clash this Friday (29 November), Nottingham RFC have just come out a three-game dance against tough opposition in Pool 2 of this seasons Premiership Rugby Cup.
It was never going to be easy for the Archers, but, although losing all three matches, Craig Hammond’s side have learnt much from clashes with current Championship leaders Coventry, the 2024 Premiership champions Northampton Saints, and the 2024 Premiership Rugby Cup runners-up Leicester Tigers.
The last of those three games, was done in front of a record-breaking crowd of 3690 at Lady Bay, and for Hammond, the experience has been “interesting, and a good learning curve for the players.”
Perhaps most disappointed with the Archers’ opening Premiership Cup defeat (34-15) at home to fellow Championship side, Coventry, than those to Northampton Saints (31-29) and Leicester Tigers (70-29), he knows there’s a lot been taken from the outings.
“Against Coventry, we just weren’t quite good enough on the night at the Bay,” explained the Archers boss, looking back on the first of the three, cup outings.
“We didn’t really fight, and weren’t physical enough; we had opportunities in the game, but we weren’t really at the races, physically, that night, and it really cost us.
“What it was though, was a good lesson for when we play them in late December.”
Then came the tests against the two, Premiership powerhouses, Northampton Saints, currently seventh, at Franklin Gardens, and Leicester Tigers, currently second, on an amazing night at the Bay.
Overall, the Archers crossed for eleven tries in the three cup outings, four of which came against the Saints, with hooker Jack Dickinson getting a brace, whilst five were registered in the game with the Tigers, fellow hooker Harry Clayton bagging two in front of that huge, enthusiastic crowd.
“Against the Saints, we were 24-5 up at half-time after what was probably the best we’ve played all season,” continued Hammond.
“We played a lot of good stuff, but lost a bit of momentum in the second half with them scoring a couple of good tries after which we lost control of the game, and couldn’t get back into it.
“I’m proud of the effort the boys put in there, and nearly beating the Premiership champions, in front of a packed-out crowd at Franklin Gardens.
“We were even 12-7 up after 25-minutes against the Tigers putting on a physical showing, with the boys up front, the scrums and the line-ups, everything was going really well.
“Then we picked up a yellow card, and they scored three, quick tries, in around seven minutes, mainly off our errors and discipline (giving away some fifteen penalties).
“You can’t do that against the top teams, an error or knock-on here and there, and they’ve got strong firepower (to punish), so I was disappointed with the end result.
“For the neutral however, or just people who like rugby, a near-hundred-point game here at the Bay, on a Friday night, with that environment, is great; it’s just frustrating for us.
“The attitude, and effort from the boys though, they’ve played really well (across all three games) and done some pretty good stuff out there.”
The Archers will run it back in the New Year, when, after five games over the festive season, and two in January after the festive break, it’s back to Premiership Cup action in February, with back-to-back away games against Coventry (1 February) and Leicester (8 February), the group action finishes with a visit of Northampton Saints on Valentines Day (14 February).
“I’m excited now, to get back into some league action, with fifth versus third at the Bay first up,” smiled Hammond.
“We’ve got some good games upcoming against teams around us in the table, and it’s a great opportunity to see where we are at now, and where we’ll be when we go into the festive break.
“A good win, and a good performance, is needed (against Bedford) and we could go into the top four, but the boys have to realise how good, and how physical, Bedford are.”
Craig Hammond’s Nottingham side return to Championship action, at Lady Bay, this coming Friday night (29 November) against Bedford Blues, followed by four matches in the run-up to the festive break against Cambridge (A, Sat 7 December), Chinoor (H, Fri 13 December), Hartpury University (A, Sat 21 December), and Coventry (H, Sat 28 December).
Keep up-to-date with all the goings on at Lady Bay via the Nottingham RFC website here and their socials on Facebook here and X here.
*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).
*Main image @NottinghamRugby Craig Hammond is excited to get back to league action this week.
