OUTLAWS 28 COVENTRY BEARS 6 (31/5/2008)

Report by Richard Johnson

Photos by Gav Slater (gallery)

Nottingham Outlaws Rugby League Club won the clash of the titans on Saturday when they swept aside last seasons champions Coventry Bears with an emphatic 28-6 victory that puts them in the driving seat at the top of the Midlands Premier Division. In a performance full of power and skill the Outlaws were just too strong for the Bears on attack and defence and only a late injury time try saved the Bears from being nilled for the first time in their history.

The Outlaws pre-match preparations were disrupted by the late withdrawl of leading forward Adam Millward who failed to recover from a niggling calf injury and in came Rory McQueen onto the bench for his first team debut along with Scott Mann for his first game for the senior team this season.

The match kicked off in front of a big crowd at The Bay and from the very first tackle the Outlaws set out their stall as a huge hit from Strachan and Pritchard drove the Bears ball carrier backwards 10 metres and set the scene for a titanic Outlaws defensive effort. Indeed, whilst the Bears seemed to have a monopoly on possession in the opening minutes of the match they failed to make any impression on a no-nonsense Outlaws defence and despite back to back sets the visitors never looked like crossing the whitewash despite their early pressure.

Above: Martin Edwards played a superb role from the unfamiliarwing position

Having weathered the early onslaught the Outlaws began to even up the possession stakes and whilst the Bears struggled to make an impression the Outlaws showed that they knew the way to the tryline! Rapier-like attacks from the home team cut through the Bears defence on 3 occasions, with Will Thomas nearly going over the whitewash only to be caught inches short. The near miss didnt matter because on the very next play Tom Howley hit the line with 2 defenders in tow but the rangey centre was too big and too strong and he crashed over for the opening score of the match. Thornton slotted over the extras and at 6-0 the Outlaws were in the lead after 18 minutes of non-stop action!

The first try seemed to settle the Outlaws' nerve somewhat and they began to pass the ball around with more pace and confidence and in doing so they began to open up gaps in the Bears defence. Time and again the Outlaws made half-breaks but they just lacked the finishing touches as a series of chances went begging. Indeed the Outlaws looked to have scored when a deft chip over the top from Calland bounced into the hands of pacey winger Chris McNamara, but with the line at his mercy the young speedster was pole-axed by a high tackle that left him dazed and confused! The crowd expected the referee to award a penalty try and whilst he sin-binned the guilty Bear he refused the pleas of the home fans for just rewards and the 2 teams went into the half time break with the Outlaws holding onto a slender 6-0 lead.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first, with the Outlaws continuing to maintain a strangle-hold on the Bears attack with cast-iron defence that never looked like being breached. Despite the Bears maintaining the lions share of possessionon the Outlaws withering defence was unyielding and the Bears could not break the home line. Indeed, the Outlaws defence began to dispirit the Bears who started to look more and more ragged as they ran out of ideas, resorting to one-man rugby at times as the home defence sapped the life out of the much-vaunted Bears attacking machine.

Above: Tom Howley looks to evade the defence on a dash for the tryline

With the defence totally in command, the Outlaws turned up the gas on the attack and they doubled their lead with a fine try by stand-out fullback Will Thomas. The young pace merchant stepped through a static Bears defence following a superb long-range pass by Calland and with Thornton converting from the touchline the Outlaws were in command of the match.

Straight from the restart the Outlaws defence stormed up the pitch and a crunching tackle by Pritchard re-gained possession for the Outlaws. From the next play George Strachan burst onto the ball at pace. Most pundits expected him to be stopped by the oncoming defence but the powerful second rower had other ideas! He powered onto the ball and knocked his opposite number backwards before repeating the move to knock another Coventry forward flat on his back and crash over the line for a try born from sheer determination. Indeed this one-man effort undoubtedly led to the young forward rightfully getting his first man-of-the match trophy of the season for a superb effort on attack and defence.

With the Outlaws now in total command they began to open up on attack and another probing kick from Calland led to a desperate scramble for the ball and an Outlaws scrum on the 20 metre line. With such a superb attacking platform to work with the Outlaws backs seized the opportunity and straight from the scrum the ball zipped down the backline and reached Will Thomas. The turbo-charged full back latched onto the ball at pace and cut through the Bears defence like a knife through butter for a marvelous try that had the home fans applauding loudly and saw the Outlaws in full control with a commanding 22-0 lead.

Above: Man-of-the-Match George Strachan looks to bump off the would-be tacklers

Despite the healthy lead and at times a lack of possession, The Outlaws attacking machine was still hungry for more tries and Tom Howley looked to be on his way for a second after a superb 60 metre break only to be hauled down short. However, with the visiting defence in dissaray the ball was quickly transferred across the pitch to set Chris McNamara free and the young winger glided in at the corner for a try. Calland added the extras from the touchline and the Outlaws were 28-0 ahead with the match well and truly in the bag!

With the clock ticking down the Bears launched one last attack and as the ball went to ground the Outlaws defence relaxed for the first time in the match. In a desperate scramble the ball was re-gathered and the Coventry backs at last found some space out wide. With the very last move of the game Coventry finally managed to spare their blushes and get on the score sheet with an injury-time try to close out the game with the Outlaws holding on to a stunning 28-6 lead.

In the post match press-conference coach Martin Crick was clearly impressed by what he saw from his charges, adding "I am really proud of my team today, they were up against the pre-season competition favourites and last years finalists and we were by far the better team, the players have really set a marker down for the rest of the teams in this competition and its going to take a very strong team to beat this outfit" however, the wily coach was quick to nip any complacency in the bud, saying "there is still a long way to go this season and we cant afford to take our foot off the gas. We desperately need to keep the squad together and focussed on the job in hand"

Next week the Outlaws are back on the road and they travel to Birmingham hoping to make it 6 wins out of 6 and maintain their 2 point gap at the top of the table.