Nottingham Outlaws began their 2026 campaign with a heavy 48-12 defeat against local rivals Sherwood Wolf Hunt at Debdale on Saturday. Despite the defeat there were a few signs of optimism for the coaches in a team that contained five debutantes and hadn’t played a competitive game for nine months!
A new look Outlaws team started brightly and had the lion’s share of possession and field position in the opening fifteen minutes but could not make it count as they fumbled the ball on a regular basis whenever they got within the Sherwood red zone. Indeed, they were pressing on the opposition try line when Sherwood intercepted and went eighty metres up field to open up a 6-0 lead.
Despite the reversal the Outlaws continued to press thanks to some good work by debutant standoff Jon Dessington who began to orchestrate some good Outlaws attacking moves. They finally got their rewards after twenty five minutes as Jacob Rigby latched onto a quick tap-penalty and weaved his way through a narrow gap to open up the Outlaws account and the young halfback levelled the scores with a conversion to make it 6-6.
Any smiles on the Outlaws faces were soon wiped off when they dropped the ball on the restart and from the ensuing scrum the hosts regained their six point advantage. Things then went from bad to worse as Sherwood went further in front as they scored on the last play of the first half to close out the stanza with the Outlaws trailing 16-6.
Despite the adverse scoreline theOutlaws went into the break in optimistic mood but any thoughts of a comeback soon evaporated as Sherwood scored two quick-fire trys in a blistering three minute opening second half spell that saw the Outlaws facing a 28-6 deficit with thirty five minutes still to play.
The early trys seemed to wipe away any semblance of Outlaws belief and with heads dropping they leaked more points and at 48-6 they were already facing a record defeat against their local rivals. However they fought back in the closing minutes and they were rewarded for some late pressure as Jack Jonson, playing in an unaccustomed full back role, strode over the line to claw back the deficit. Jacob Rigby added the extras as the match finished with the Outlaws on the wrong end of a 48-12 scoreline.
Despite the defeat there were a few good performances on show, not least that of debutant standoff Jon Dessington who had a great first game in an Outlaws shirt and it came as no surprise when he deservedly took the player of the match award.
The Outlaws now have seven days to prepare for their first home game of the season against last years champions, Telford Raiders (kick off 2.30pm).