Nottingham Outlaws kept their 100% start to their 2025 Midlands Premier League campaign alive with a hard-earned 28-20 victory over Coventry Bears at Earlsdon on Saturday. However, they did it the hard way, having to overturn a 14-6 deficit to eventually run out 28-20 victors and in doing so, return to the top of the table.
The Outlaws went into the game with a somewhat depleted roster, missing no fewer than eight players from the squad that turned out against Sherwood in the previous league fixture. The changes disrupted pre-match preparations with a revised halfback pairing and captain Coryn Ward moving into hooking duties. They were joined by Cei Ridout, Dan Brown and Harry Watts who all came in for their first hit-out of the season.
The opening exchanges were relatively even with neither side looking like scoring but after ten minutes of stalemate it was the Outlaws who opened the scoring when Sam Andrews latched onto a quick play the ball following a line break by Coryn Ward and the powerful prop charged over the line from ten metres out despite the attention of two defenders. Whitfield added the extras from bang in front to settle the Outlaws nerves with the scoreline at 6-0 in their favour.
As the first half progressed the Outlaws found themselves more and more on the back foot, dropping or losing the ball in the tackle with alarming regularity. Add in a slew of penalties and repeat sets to the recipe and the result was a thirty minute period in which the Outlaws were pinned back in their own forty, having to repel attack after attack.
With the Outlaws under the cosh they were now working overtime but thankfully their scrambling defence kept the home side scoreless when it could have been a lot worse. However, with less than five minutes of the first stanza remaining the Bears did eventually got a try that their dominance deserved and they levelled the game at 6-6 as the half time hooter went soon after.
Half time talk from head coach Joe Shepherd was all about protecting the ball and set completion but the straight forward message didn’t seem to sink in during the opening exchanges following the re-start as once again the Outlaws found themselves repelling attack after attack, unable to get their hands on the ball and when they did, losing it in the tackle to invite the home side back into the Outlaws red zone.
With twelve second half minutes played it was the Bears who opened the second stanza scoring with a try under the posts and a quick-fire penalty stretched the home lead to 14-6 on the 65 minute mark.
At this stage the Outlaws had not been into the Bears forty and they desperately needed to find some inspiration from somewhere and they found it in the shape of fullback Gaz Whitfield. The sure-footed sharpshooter put in a superb downfield kick into the Bears twenty and a good defensive follow up saw the home side cough up the ball to give the Outlaws head and feed. Buoyed by the outcome, big Sam Bradley took the ball straight from the scrum and used his footwork and strength to crash over the try line from fifteen metres out. Whitfield converted and the Outlaws were now back in a game at 14-12 in a match that was very much slipping away from them!
The Bradley try clearly breathed new life into an Outlaws side that immediately upped the ante and in a blistering five minute spell they notched three more trys without reply!
The first came straight from the restart following the Bradley try, with big Sam Andrews registering his second of the game with virtually a carbon copy effort to his first as the big prop carried three defenders over the line with him for yet another try borne from sheer power!
Two minutes later the Outlaws went over again following a marvellous solo run from Captain Coryn Ward who went on a scintillating twenty metre run to the line, handing off the Coventry fullback before planting down over the try line.
Next up in this blistering spell was winger Michael Adeyemi who chased down an inch-perfect kick from Gaz Whitfield which sat up in the in-goal area and the speedster won the foot race to the ball to stretch the Outlaws to a 28-14 lead having been looking down the barrel less than ten minutes before the try avalanche!
As the game entered the last ten minutes the Outlaws once again found themselves on the back foot and a spirited Coventry side registered a late try but it was too little too late and there was a mixture of joy and relief when the final whistle went with the Outlaws registering their third win on the bounce with a 28-20 winning margin.
After the game the Outlaws squad waited eagerly for the man of the match award. There were plenty of players mentioned in dispatches, with Sam Bradley, Coryn Ward and Sam Andrews all having solid games in the engine room of the pack and Michael Adeyemi putting in some great defence as well as a fine try. However it was full back Gaz Whitfield that took the trophy. The wily fullback orchestrated proceedings superbly for the Outlaws, barking orders on attack and defence backed up with a masterclass of field kicking and four out of five conversion attempts finding their mark!
Next Saturday all roads lead to Lenton Lane where the Outlaws will entertain a Telford Raiders side that also sport a 100% winning record in what promises to be a titanic struggle!