On a fine autumnal day at Bournbrook a great game of rugby was played out with the Rugby Union 1st’s losing in a tight game to Nott Trent 1st’s. Despite Nottingham being second in the table prior to the game kicking off, Birmingham were not overwhelmed by the opposition and put on a brave performance, which will give them great confidence for the rest of the season.
The game was instantly set alight in the early part of the first half as following a long stint of possession by Nott Trent, the Birmingham winger Ali Connor was able to intercept the ball and ran from the 20-metre line to score the first try of the game. However the game was instantly turned on its head as Birmingham’s second row was sin binned following holding onto the ball in the ruck.
This in turn spurned on Nottingham Trent whereby despite a great effort from Birmingham in terms of their defence, a superb offload from Nott Trent opened up a gap which gave them their first try of the game. Despite this, straight after the kick-off Birmingham showed their resilience (even with a player still being in the sin bin) as centre James Chaumeton was able to find space in the Trent defence and was able to touch down to put the home side back in the lead.
However just before half-time Notts Trent (with the sin binned player back on the pitch) were able to pressurise the Birmingham defence, forcing a mistake, which eventually led to second try of the game. Nevertheless due to a series of missed kicks by both sides Birmingham went into half time leading Nott Trent 17 points to 16.
In the second half the game was even tighter with both team’s forward line-ups cancelling each other out. However despite this following a line out on the five-meter line Notts Trent overcame the Birmingham forward line defence and mauled over to score the first try of the second half.
Nevertheless Birmingham again showed their fighting spirit late on in the second half. In a dramatic phase of the game following a strong period of pressure from Birmingham, the opponent’s number eight was penalised and sin binned. This in turn was crucial as they were awarded a scrum after the opposition turned over the ball. By not having their number eight the Birmingham forwards were able to successfully move the ball and get a turn over ball. In turn following a sustained period of play by Birmingham a skilful through-the-legs pass helped to give the space for Riven Earle to score the try which in turn put them back in the lead.
However the result was eventually turned round in the dying embers of the game when Notts Trent secured a late penalty, which gave them the win over Birmingham with the final score reading 23- 21. The result did not match the performance of the home side whereby they were fully deserved to be the winners. Nevertheless it was a great performance by the team and will fill them with great confidence for the remainder of the season.
Fraser Smith
1st XV Men’s Rugby vs. Nottingham Trent 1st XV by Burnfm_Sport on Mixcloud
