BEDFORD 2s 30 OUTLAWS ACADEMY 34 (24/5/2008)

Report by Richard Johnson

Photos by Gav Slater (gallery)

Nottingham Outlaws Academy staged a remarkable comeback at Bedford on Saturday when they overturned a 20-point half time defecit to snatch an amazing 34-30 victory with a try in the last seconds of the game.

The Outlaws scrambled onto the field having arrived late and the lack of match preparedness and the long journey had clearly taken its toll on the weary players. Straight from the kick off they were quickly put to the sword by a pacey, well drilled Bedford unit that had size and pace out in the centres.

In a whirlwind start to the match Bedford scored a converted try straight from the kick off and when they scored a quick fire brace of tries to make it 14-0 with only 10 minutes on the clock and a cricket score looked to be on the cards. Time and again the faster, more-powerful Bedford backs made huge in-roads into the Outlaws defence and it seemed that it was only a matter of time before more tries would come Bedford's way.

Above: Oliver Dale escapes the clutches of a Bedford tackler

Try as they might the Outlaws could not make much of an impression on the Bedford defence and when they spilled the ball once again the tigers swept up the field to score another long-range effort to make it 20-0 to Bedford and it seemed that the match had already been put beyond the Outlaws reach.

To their credit the Outlaws began a brief fight back and workmanlike Craig Wells led the charge with a series of powerful runs and it was one of these short-range bursts that saw the burly prop crash over the line to post the Outlaws first points of the match to peg back the score to 20-6 but Bedford immediately went back on the attack and scored again to put the Tigers 26-6 ahead as the referee drew the half to a close.

At half time coach Shepherd had a few stern words to say to his charges and stressed the need to maintain composure and use the elements, such as a strong wind that was now going to be at the Outlaws backs.

The effects of the slope and a strong breeze became immediately apparent from the kick-off as the Outlaws forwards piled into their opposite numbers with renewed vigour and greater momentum as the balance of the match swung in the Outlaws favour.

Above: Nathan Crichton gives some much-needed 'go-forward' to the Outlaws attack

With the Outlaws beginning to get on top of the Tigers the score board began to click over in the Outlaws favour. Soon the tries began to rack up as Matt Wylde latched onto the end of a fine handling move to score, following good work by barnstorming prop Ben Yeardley and when big prop Si Perry scored in the corner the Beford lead had been pegged back to 26-18 and the Outlaws began to sniff Tiger blood!

As the Outlaws camped in the Tigers half they began to turn the screw even harder and more points were inevitable. Next over the whitewash was Craig Wells who crashed over from short range to make it 26-22 and the Outlaws were nearly level!

As the match entered the final 10 minutes the Outlaws play began to get more desperate and as they probed the Bedford defence the ball spilled loose which allowed the Bedford attack to sweep up the field and score an unconverted try in the corner to stretch the Bedford lead back out to 30-22 and most pundits believed that it was "game over"

Unfortunately for Bedford there were still some suprises to come! Big prop Craig Wells certainly wasnt ready to put his cue on the rack and the burly prop crashed over for a fine try to drag the score back to 30-28 but with less than a minute to play it was surely too late, especially with the home team being awarded a penalty on the re-start. However, for some reason, rather than "up the jumper" rugby Bedford tried to spin the ball wide only to lose possession to give the Outlaws one last set.

Above: Matchwinner Steve 'Pirate' Hall on the receiving end of a 'throttle' tackle

The hungry Outlaws pounced on the loose ball, scorched up the field and from 40 metres out new recruit Steve Hall burst onto the ball at pace, split a tired home defence and notched a superb try under the posts, much to the delight of the travelling Outlaws army. The Hall try had edged the Outlaws into the lead for the first time in the match at 32-30 which soon became 30-34 as the conversion sailed over. Just how close the Outlaws had been to defeat became apparent as the referee immediately called time on the match.

As the jubilant Outlaws left the field the look on the players faces was a mixture of pleasure and relief as they had done the unthinkable and overturned a huge 20-pont defecit to eventually snatch a win and keep their 100% record intact.