Christmas is fast approaching, so time to get organised and buy some Outlaws gifts for your nearest and dearest! This year’s gifts can be viewed and ordered via the link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1D-Rby6PhjvGFfVmeQtR6OqhcO2bo4TMY7u0Vjpenb6Y/viewform?edit_requested=true

Order now to get the Early Bird prices. Deadline for orders is Monday 11th November. Once you have submitted your order, the club will contact you directly to arrange payment. For your order to be processed, payment must be made prior to the deadline. Your items will be ready to collect from Lenton Lane on Sunday 8th December at the Outlaws Christmas Fayre.

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. Continue reading “Telford Raiders 28 : Nottingham Outlaws 24” →

Nottingham Outlaws are through to the Midlands Premiership Final after a hard fought semi-final victory over Birmingham Bulldogs at Lenton Lane on Saturday 3rd August. The win takes the Outlaws into their first final appearance since 2015!

Nottingham Outlaws are through to the Midlands Premiership Final after a hard fought semi-final victory over Birmingham Bulldogs at Lenton Lane on Saturday. The win takes the Outlaws into their first final appearance since 2015 and avenges a home defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs only three weeks ago.

 Coach Shepherd made three changes to the side that lost at Sherwood a fortnight ago with  Sam Andrews and  Mike Bennett boosting the forward ranks and Josh Webb returning from injury  with a place the bench.

 It was an interesting clash in styles straight from the get-go, with the bigger Birmingham pack coming down the middle, looking to offload and the Outlaws using wider runners to find space. However early nerves from both sides saw the ball going to ground on a regular basis.

 After 20 minutes of even play Birmingham opened the scoring after a penalty gave them good field position resulting in an overlap and they went in at the corner for a 0-4 lead.

 Stung by this reversal the Outlaws fought back and 5 mins later a quick play the ball saw  captain Coryn Ward barge through two defenders to score. Ashby added the extras to nudge the Outlaws ahead 6-4.

 It was a lead the Outlaws were destined to keep for the rest of the game!

Not for the first time this season the Outlaws made a hash of the restart and off the back of it Birmingham looked like they would score only for Wigglesworth and Goodwin to force Birmingham into touch.

 Buoyed by this the Outlaws hit back and at 35 mins a great Hopkins break took the Outlaws into the Birmingham red zone before the ball left to winger Jimmy  Goodwin to power past opposite number to stretch the lead to 10-4.

 However on the stroke of half time. Birmingham scored after a quick play of the ball and some weak tackling allowed them to run through and score and cut the Outlaws  lead to 10-8 half time.

 The Outlaws forwards started the second stanza on top, tackling well with Wigglesworth starting to turn the screw using his long kicking to relieve pressure and force a number of errors by the visitors, culminating in a Burgin cut out pass from dummy half to Hopkins who took it superbly to score in the right hand corner to stretch the lead out to 14-8.

 The Outlaws smelt blood and three minutes later the ball moved to Strachan who opened up the Birmingham defence with an inside ball to Ashby who shot through a gap before beating the full back to score. Wigglesworth added the extras to cement the lead at 20-8.

 Despite a few nervy moments the Outlaws managed to keep their line intact for the remainder of the match for a hard earned but ultimately well deserved 20-8 victory.

 After the game there were more than a few names in the hat for the man of the match award but for the second match running it was Luke Wadding who took the bubbly with yet another fine performance,

With a final appearance in the bag the players enjoyed their post match celebrations with the final words coming from a satisfied coach Joe Shepherd who commented “It was great to see the lads bounce back from what was a demoralising defeat against Birmingham only three weeks ago. To nil them in the second half was very pleasing because they have some terrific ball runners. It was also great to see the team putting into practice the things we had been covering in training in the lead up to the game”

 All roads lead to Birmingham next weekend as the Outlaws go in search of silverware with a tough looking Telford team standing in their way!

Nottingham Outlaws succumbed to a 19-6 defeat in their last round of  regular league fixtures at local rivals Sherwood Wolf Hunt on Saturday. The defeat means that the Outlaws will finish in second place in the table, still guaranteed a home fixture when the end of season play-offs start on the 3^rd August.

The Outlaws went into the game with pretty much the same side that lost out against Birmingham the week before although there was a welcome return for vice captain Gareth Whitfield, Jon Hemmingway and Joe Moran who was pulling on a first team shirt for the first time in three seasons.

The match started with neither side being able to make an impression in the face of some stout defending but it was the Outlaws that were making most of the territorial battle and after 16 minutes they opened their account when a fine break by Luke Wadding saw him release to Jacob Butler and the young centre strode over for the opening score. Ashby slotted over for the extras and the Outlaws led 6-0.

Disaster then struck when major play-maker Whitfield left the arena destined to take no further part in the game, seriously blunting the Outlaws attack for the rest of the game.

The Outlaws ascendency was suddenly halted and the enthusiastic home side opened their account when they lost the ball from a steep kick and Sherwood regathered to score out wide. Five minutes later they repeated the test and once again the Outlaws knocked on from the kick and once again the home side capitalised to nudge 10-6 in front as the half time hooter sounded.

The second stanza started in much the same way as the first with neither side able to break down some uncompromising defence  and after sixteen minutes of second half play neither side could make an impression with the game deadlocked.

With defences on top Sherwood extended their lead to 12-6 with a penalty after the Outlaws made a hash of the high ball and five minutes later they went further ahead and once again it was a kick that did the damage as a high bomb was collected by the attacking side in a one-on-one contest and Sherwood strode over for a converted try that extended the home lead to two scores at 18-6.

In the remaining fifteen minutes the Outlaws tried their best to get over the whitewash but in all honesty they lacked the cutting edge to open up the Sherwood defence and it was the home side who closed out the scoring with a well taken drop goal to seal the game at 19-6.

Despite the defeat the Outlaws had put up a much-improved performance compared the previous weeks dismal showing against Birmingham. Indeed there were a number of stand-out performances from individual players, led by man of the match Luke Wadding who had a fine eighty minutes, his best of the season.

The Outlaws now have the luxury of a week off before they start their all-important play-off campaign. They will be guaranteed a home game but their opposition will not be decided until next week’s final round of fixtures.

Nottingham Outlaws suffered their first league defeat of the season when they succumbed to a hugely disappointing 24-28 defeat at the hands of play-of rivals Birmingham at Lenton Lane on Saturday. Their loss was made more painful by the fact that they led by 24-0 towards the end of the first half and seemed in full control but a second half defensive horror show put any thoughts of topping the league well and truly on ice.

With only a couple of regular first team players unavailable  the Outlaws named a strong looking squad and they started well enough with Aiden Butler wriggling through a couple of Birmingham defenders to score from close range before Louis O’Connor went fully sixty metres to score a great solo effort to put the Outlaws 8-0 up in as many minutes!

The early scores probably did more harm than good as the home side became more sloppy in their approach and a series of errors saw them nearly concede but a couple of dropped balls saved their blushes.

A couple of changes from the bench seemed to do the trick when Harry Watts and Cal Foster entered the fray and within a ten minute period both players showed their pace, scorching through the Birmingham defence to double the Outlaws lead to 18-0 which became 24-0 when Watts added his second following some fine handling down the left wing channel.

As the half time hooter approached the Outlaws finally conceded a score in the corner as Birmingham opened their account with a good handling move that bagged a four-pointer to close the first stanza with the Outlaws well in control at 24-4.

The second half was very much an arm wrestle as neither side could break down some dogged defence and it was the Outlaws who came closest to scoring with Luke Wadding making two good breaks down the left wing only to lose the ball in the tackle when trying to get over the whitewash,

With twenty second half minutes to play Birmingham launched another attack on the back of a lost ball in the Outlaws twenty and this time they made no mistake as they cut the arrears to 24-8 which became 24-14 when they scored again within two minutes and the momentum in the game was clearly changing.

Try as they might the Outlaws couldn’t get hold of the ball on the back of a series of penalties and lost balls and a fully resurgent Birmingham side smelt blood and went for the kill. 

With the Outlaws defence tiring badly and dropping off the tackle with alarming regularity the visitors cut loose and in a disastrous final ten minutes the Outlaws leaked back to back trys as Birmingham levelled at 24-24 before sneaking ahead at 24-28 on the last play of the game.

When the final whistle sounded there was stunned disbelief in the Outlaws camp that a game that was well and truly in the bag had slipped from their grasp. Despite the disappointment there were a few good performances in the ranks, with Jacob Butler standing out as the player of the match .T

The Outlaws now go into their last game of the season, at Sherwood on Saturday, knowing they will need to beat their local rivals if they are to finish at the top of the league ahead of the all-important play-offs.

The home game against Birmingham Bulldogs has been changed from 27th July to 13th July.

This game will still be played at home (Lenton Lane).

Hope to see all our supporters down for this exciting match!

Nottingham Outlaws unbeaten league run continued on Saturday when they put a strong Coventry Bears side to the sword, recording an emphatic 44-6 victory at Lenton Lane on Saturday.

The Outlaws went into the match with a side sporting a number of changes from the team that ran out in the friendly at Moorends the weekend before. The changes included the return of last season’s captain Alex Whittle who was having his first hit-out of the season and debutant Harry Watts.

The match started and right from the get-go it was clear that both teams were playing with contrasting styles, Coventry playing down the middle utilising their big pack of forwards whilst the Outlaws were looking to use their superior pace and movement out wide at every opportunity.

After ten minutes of fairly even rugby the Outlaws opened their account as winger Jimmy Goodwin scored after running over the top of his opposite number to nudge the Outlaws 4-0 ahead.

Having inched ahead the Outlaws let their opponents into the game and on the back of a knock on and a penalty they marched into the Outlaws red-zone and the home side could do little to stop their big forwards driving over from short range to nudge the Bears ahead 6-4.

Stung by this reversal the Outlaws went back on the hunt for more try’s and scrum half Tom Wigglesworth soon found the key to the door, eluding a couple of tacklers to plant the ball under the sticks. Whitfield added the extras to put the Outlaws ahead at 10-6.

It was a lead that the Outlaws were destined to keep for the remainder of the game.

Once again, the Outlaws made a hash of the play the ball after the restart and the Bears should have scored, only to lose the ball in the act of grounding when a try would have seen them once again pull ahead.

Having been let off the hook the Outlaws were quick to add to the visitor’s misery as pacey centre Cal Foster tore through the line before rounding the full back to score under the sticks for a marvellous forty yarder. Again, Whitfield converted and the Outlaws went into the sheds at 16-6 at the end of forty fairly even minutes.

Coach Shepherd used the break to breath some fresh life into the side with Steve Page and Harry Watts coming on the pitch.

The next try was always going to be important and thankfully from a home perspective it was the Outlaws who got it as Captain Coryn Ward jinked through the Bears defence to open his account for the afternoon as the Outlaws eased out to a three score lead at 22-6.

The Ward try seemed to knock the stuffing out of a Bears side that had competed well but were now rapidly running out of steam.

Sensing the game was there for the taking the Outlaws put the foot on the gas and began attacking at will and the score board soon started moving again as Jimmy Goodwin grabbed his second of the game with a carbon copy try to his first.

Probably the biggest cheer of the day came when Alex Whittle marked his return to the fold with a trademark show and go that opened up a gap big enough for the long-striding halfback to waltz through without a hand being laid upon him. With the Whitfield conversion sailing through the sticks the Outlaws were powering ahead at 34-6.

The home side were in no mood to let their rivals off the hook and in the very next set they extended their lead further whin powerful winger Jimmy Goodwin completed a fine hat trick  with yet another unstoppable surge over the line.

As the clock ticked down the Outlaws had time for one more score and what a try it was!

There seemed little danger when Cal Foster took the ball in hand just inside his own half but the boom centre went on what is now his trademark mazy run, rounding two players before surging through the line, wrong-footing the fullback to score a superb effort under the sticks.

To make matters worse for the visitors the chasing Bears committed a nasty, indeed dangerous foul on the young Outlaws Centre which saw the Bears reduced to 12 players for the remainder of the match.

Despite their numerical advantage the Outlaws did not add to their score and the referee blew for time with the Outlaws holding a commanding 44-6 lead after scoring 22 unanswered points in the second stanza.

After the game the players waited to hear who would walk away with the man of the match bubbly. In such a big win there were a number of players in with a shout such as hat trick hero Jimmy Goodwin and the effervescent Cal Foster who also bagged a fine brace. However, for the second game in a row the award Ali Waring took the vote with a superb effort especially in the first half when his defending kept a bigger Bears pack at bay.

Next week the Outlaws are at home again as they face a struggling Swindon Bulldogs side that is yet to get a point.

Nottingham Outlaws used the gap in this week’s Premier League fixture list to send an experimental side up to Moorends for a friendly hit-out against the Doncaster outfit. In an entertaining yet low-scoring affair the lead changed hands three times before the sides settled for a 12-12 draw.

The Outlaws coaching team used the game to rest key players and try some new combinations in a side that contained three players on first team debut with a further five players drafted into the side that played Sherwood the week before

The Outlaws started the first half well, moving the ball across the pitch in assured fashion so it came as no surprise when Harry Hemmingway scooted over for the opening score despite some heavy traffic close to the line.

After some good early work the Outlaws found themselves starved of possession and the home side began to turn the screw, pouncing on a series of mistakes to score two unanswered try’s to edge out to an 8-4 lead.

With the clock ticking down the Outlaws just had enough time to launch one last attack down the right-hand side and Jimmy Goodwin was on hand to crash over following a powerful surge to the try line. 

The scores were now locked at 8-8 as the referee brought the first stanza to a close.

The second half started with neither side being able to capitalise on some good field position and defences definitely on top as neither side looked like scoring.

With 65 minutes played the Outlaws finally broke the deadlock when Harry Hemmingway, having a great game on the left wing  once again wriggled over in heavy traffic to nudge the Outlaws back into the lead at 12-18.

It looked like the Outlaws might hang on for a win but a lost ball in the dying minutes compounded by back-to-back penalties allowed Moorends one last chance and they crept over in the corner to level up the scores at 12-12 as the referee brought the game to a close.

After the game there were several players in with a shout for the man of the match award. Jacob Butler had an excellent game  on attack and especially defence with an industrious afternoon at the office but in the end the bubbly was shared by tackling machine Ali Waring and try scoring hero Harry Hemmingway.

Next week the Outlaws return to Premier League duty with a must-win against arch rivals Coventry Bears at Lenton Lane on Saturday (2.30pm)

Nottingham Outlaws entertained Leamington Royals in a Midlands Women’s Friendly fixture  on Saturday and despite incessant rain, both sides put on an excellent show before Outlaws pushed out to a convincing  30-16 victory.

Leamington battled hard but the Outlaws superior scoring ability always kept them one step ahead on the scoresheet. 

Try scorers were Robyn Gulley (3) Shannon Jordan (2) and Leah Martin (1) with Robyn adding three conversions to her points tally. 

As the players waited eagerly for the player of the match announcement there were a number of Outlaws in contention but there were no surprises when the bubbly deservedly went to  Shannon Jordan.

After the game team captain Rhiz Lord was quick to congratulate her troops commenting ”  I am so proud of the team today. Every single person put their best foot forward and the result shows this. We gave it our all, despite horrendous weather conditions and came away with a much-deserved win. This has given us the boost we needed and we head into next week’s Midlands tournament ready to win again!”

Final thoughts came from a very satisfied Women’s Head Coach Mark Stockman who added “I thought the ladies battled well given the torrential conditions. We put a lot of what we’re doing in training into practice today. The friendly also allowed me as coach to be able to try some different combinations. We need a big push at training this week to give ourselves the best opportunity for a result next weekend.”