BEDFORD TIGERS 16 OUTLAWS 38 (24/5/2008)

Report by Richard Johnson

Photos by Gav Slater (gallery)

Nottingham Outlaws Rugby League Club made it a perfect 4 wins out of 4 matches on Saturday when they beat a highly-fancied Bedford Tigers outfit 38-16. In doing so the Outlaws maintained their joint lead at the top of the Midlands premier with arch rivals Coventry Bears and set up a mouthwatering clash of the titans next week when the 2 meet at The Bay in Nottingham.

The Outlaws arrived at Bedford knowing that the home team were out to prove a point having been newly-promoted to the premier division and desperate to make a mark against the conference leaders. The Tigers quickly went on the attack and the Outlaws knew they were in for a tough match as the home team zipped the ball across the pitch, only to be repelled by no-nonsense Outlaws defence.

As both sides probed for an early opening it was the Outlaws who drew first blood when a great break by Ben Thornton found Calland in support and the elusive stand off shot through a gap in the Tigesr defence for a well-worked try. Thornton slotted over the extras and the Outlaws were 6-0 in front with 10 minutes on the clock. Then, straight from the re-start Calland caught a spiralling kick and passed to rampaging prop Adam Millward who suprised the home defence with a turn of pace that saw him break through a ragged defensive line. As the full back closed in the elusive Millward calmly turned the ball inside to the supporting Will Thomas and the young full-back sauntered over the line. With Thornton converting the Outlaws were 12-0 ahead in almost as many minutes and the Tigers were reeling.

Above: Ben Thornton applies the brakes to evade a Bedford grab

To their credit the Tigers roared back into action and really began to ask some questions in the Outlaws 20 metre zone. With the mid-way point of the half approaching it was the Tigers who had the Outlaws pinned in their own half and the pressure finally told as the home side scored 2 quick-fire tries to peg the Outlaws lead back to 12-10 and it was game on!

Having fought their way back into the game the Tigers made a crucial error on the re-start when the Outlaws kicked the ball over the dead ball line forcing the Tigers to drop the ball out from under the posts. The Outlaws collected the ball and quickly lay siege to the Tigers line and within 2 plays they scored with Will Thomas diving over from short range for his second of the match. Thornton added the extras to make it 18-10 and the Outlaws had quickly stamped out the Bedford mini-revival.

As the half time whistle approached coach Martin Crick threw on Steve "The Pirate" Hall for his Outlaws debut and the swashbuckling second-rower scored with his first touch of the ball after scrum half Jimmy Lewis mesmerised the home defence with a mazy crossfield run that drew in 2 defenders before a deft pass out of the back of the hand opened up a gap for Hall to scoot in under the posts without a hand being laid on him! Thornton converted to keep his 100% record for the half and make it 24-10 to the Outlaws as the referee drew the half to a close.

Above: Loose-forward Rob Brown makes quick metres from dummy-half

At half time coach Crick spoke in earnest to his charges to maintain composure as the Tigers were still in the match and the home team had the use of a strong wind in the ensuing second stanza. With this in mind the Outlaws started the second half at a quick tempo that put the Tigers onto the back foot. Led by powerful second rower George Strachan the Outlaws pack quickly got on top allowing half-backs Lewis and Calland to weave their magic as the wily duo superbly orchestrated the Outlaws try scoring machine.

The first score of the half came when the Outlaws made a power-play on the last tackle and a superb 15 metre pass from Myles Rutherford landed in the arms of winger Chris McNamara who dived in at the corner and within 2 minutes stand off Paul Calland grabbed his second of the match with a trademark dummy pass and step that opened up the home defence for the experienced stand-off to score his 8th try in 4 matches this season. Thornton goaled and at 32-10 the match seemed to be in the bag.

As the second half reached the mid-way mark the Outlaws remained in control with the Outlaws tackling their opponents to a stand-still and the darting Rob Brown having more and more influence on the match as the super-fit loose forward began to find more and more gaps in the home defence. However, with the match slipping away from them the Tigers at last gained possession in the Outlaws red zone and the Outlaws defence finally cracked as big prop Darren Pickard crashed over from short range to pull the Tigers back into the game at 34-16 with 18 minutes still to play

Above: Man-of-the-Match Aidan Pritchard got through a mountain of work

Buoyed by this success the Tigers roared back into life and they looked to have set up another try only for young second-rower Aidan Pritchard to somehow scramble across into the corner and smash the tigers winger into touch with a superb try-saving tackle that went a long way towards winning him the man of the match trophy.

The tackle by Pritchard seemed to buoy the Outlaws spirit and at the same time knock the wind out of the Bedford sails. As the Tigers drew breath the Outlaws stormed back up the pitch and on the last tackle scrum half Jimmy Lewis put in a superbly-weighted grubber kick into the Bedford in-goal from 20 metres out and dynamic second-rower Martin Edwards won the race to the ball. As the young student international touched down in the corner he effectively wrapped up the match with the Outlaws holding a healthy 38-16 winning lead and the referee promptly ended proceedings.

In the post match press-conference coach Martin Crick expressed his pleasure with what he described as the Outlaws best performance of the season so far, adding "Im really pleased with the performance today against the best team we have faced this season, but what is even more exciting is that I know we can play even better than this! We are at 80% effectiveness now and I know that this team still has something in reserve. I want to see that extra 20% next week when we go head to head with Coventry"

Next Saturday all roads lead to The Bay as the Outlaws entertain current champions Coventry Bears (kick off 2.30pm). In a mouth-watering fixture both teams are currently unbeaten but something will have to give as the 2 titans clash for the first time this season.