Nottingham Outlaws attempt to win the Midlands Premiership title ended in disappointment when they fell to a narrow 28-24 defeat against rivals Telford Raiders in Birmingham on Saturday. In a hugely entertaining game, the Outlaws led for half the game and almost stole a victory on the last play of the match but they ultimately fell just short of the silverware.
The Outlaws kicked off the match playing down the slope and almost conceded a try on the first play after a blistering opening attack by the Raiders opened up the Outlaws defence but a great try saving tackle by full back Haz Ashby saved what looked like being an early opening try.
The opening scenes continued in much the same way with Telford carving open gaps in the Outlaws line only for some great scrambling defence to save the day on a number of occasions.
Despite the heroic defence the Outlaws were clearly under the cosh and eventually the Raiders took the lead when they once again opened up the line on the fringes to take a 6-0 lead that was scant reward for their dominance in the opening quarter.
The Raiders try seemed to act as something of a wake-up call for the Outlaws who stormed back into the game and at last they began to ask some questions of the Raiders defence. A great Adam Ward break saw the lively second rower surge into the Raiders red zone and the move was finished off by Jimmy Goodwin who crashed over from short range. Wigglesworth added the extras from wide out to level at 6-6.
Despite the scores being levelled the Outlaws were still on the back foot as the Raiders continued to test the Outlaws scrambling defence but once again the Outlaws held on before hitting back.in devastating fashion.
From a rare attack the Outlaws looked to go right but a clever switch in play saw captain Coryn Ward took a neat ball from George Strachan before taking two defenders over the line with him. Wigglesworth slotted over again as the Outlaws went into the lead for the first time at 12-6.
Once again the Raiders went back on the attack and they reduced the deficit to 12-10 with a well worked try out wide but with the clock ticking down a powerful surge by James Hood almost saw the big centre go over. However on the next play George Strachan spotted a gap and drove over from short range as the Outlaws stretched their lead out to 18-10 with Wigglesworth again adding the extras from wide out in what proved to be the final act of the first half.
The second stanza started much like the first with the Raiders attack posing more questions for the Outlaws and with the slope in their favour they began to cut loose. In a devastating five minute spell they added two trys either side of the fifty minute mark that saw the Outlaws lead evaporate as the scores levelled at 18-18 before the Raiders surged ahead with their third try of the half taking them into a 22-18 lead.
With the ball moving down the Raiders line at devastating pace the Outlaws were now clearly struggling to hang on and with injuries mounting the interchange options were limited with three players on the bench unable to continue.
It seemed like game set and match when the Raders extended their lead to two scores when they capitalised on back to back sets to once again crash over out wide to leave the Outlaws 28-18 in arrears with ten minutes left to play.
With the game slipping away from there seemed no way back for the Outlaws who at this point had hardly mounted an attack of any sort during a second half largely dominated by the Raiders but in a rare foray they somehow conjured up a score. Strachan was once again at the heart of it, dummying to pass before a reverse switch of play saw Ashby latch onto the ball at pace to score a great try from a well-rehearsed move.
Wigglesworth added the extras and at 24-28 it was game on!
With less than two minutes on the clock the Outlaws threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the Raiders as they went looking for an unlikely win and they almost snatched it but Jacob Butler was pulled down just short of the line before the whistle went on the very next play.
Despite falling just short the Outlaws could not have tried any harder with every player trying their utmost including man of the match Adam Ward who had a superb game on attack and defence.
The defeat marks the end of the season for the Outlaws who now take a well-earned break before preparations start for the new season!