Nottingham Outlaws 30
Bramley Buffaloes 22

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And the result in doubt until two minutes from time.

Nottingham now sit nine points behind the runaway leaders but, with two games in hand, have proved that they will have a major say in the ultimate destination of the title.

In a gripping and at times brutal match in front of a large crowd, the Outlaws led throughout and delighted coach Martin Crick was full of praise for his charges.

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"It was an excellent performance, the first half in particular was the best that we have produced this season" he said.

"While we were on the back foot after the re-start, I thought the pack stood up magnificently to a fierce comeback by Bramley and we held on for a victory that we more than deserved."

Nottingham made a superb start and were in front as early as the fifth
minute, a penalty taking them deep into the Bramley half and a quick tap saw the ball move down the line at pace, passing through five pairs of hands, Will Thomas stepping back inside for the score.

The opening quarter was very evenly matched as defences remained on top and as the half wore on it became apparent that the Outlaws were beginning to win the territorial battle as their pack began to wear down the Bramley front six.

A string of penalties kept the Buffaloes on the back foot as the Outlaws began to up the pace of the game and the stalemate was finally broken on the 25 minute mark when a speculative Paul Calland grubber sat up in the in-goal area and was pounced on by prop Aidan Pritchard to put the home side 8-0 ahead.

Within two minutes the hosts struck again, loose forward Simon Morton driving the ball just short of the Bramley line and on the next play, a short ball to Si Perry saw the Outlaws prop crash over from short distance in an unstoppable surge to the line.

Rob Brown added the extras from bang in front but they made a mess of the re-start as Tom Tsang fumbled the ball in his own quarter.
Bramley did not need a second invitation and straight from the resulting scrum they opened their account when in-form winger Nick Fontaine slid over in the corner to make it 14-4 at the break.

Stung by the first half, Bramley started the second strongly and began to move the ball around at pace and only last ditch tackles by Tsang and Myles Rutherford kept the visitors out.

Outlaws' scrambling defence hung on and hit back to score with a devastating counter attack.

George Strachan provided the killer blow as the nuggety second rower broke through the Bramley line and ran over full back Andy McGann to score between the posts.

The complexion of the match suddenly changed with the sending off of Buffalo Simon Speight for a high challenge on Brown in the 53rd minute.
As often happens, it was the offending team that rose to the adversity as 12-man Bramley immediately took a stranglehold on possession and began moving the ball at pace.

Nottingham withstood four back-to-back sets on their own line but their defence cracked when Chris Gardener swept in for a try for the visitors that Paul Drake converted to peg it back to 20-10.

Outlaws hit back with a rare second half attack and Ben Rutherford scored a great try, the powerful centre diving in at the corner for a fine solo effort.

However, a resurgent Bramley hit straight back and within a minute of the re-start they scored again when Jim Shuttleworth scored straight from a scrum.

With 16 minutes to play, Buffaloes threw everything they had at the Outlaws and scored the try of the match, unloading in the tackle three times for Drake to go over and add the extras to narrow the gap to two points.

Jez Cox proved to be the host's inspiration, the young Trent student charging through a gap in the Bramley defence in his own quarter, before he was finally hauled down on the Buffaloes 40 metre line.

Adam Millward, bloodied and battered after playing the whole match without a break, took the next drive and, with the Bramley defence stretched, a quick play the ball found rampaging prop Perry and the big forward crashed over from short range for his second try of the game, Jimmy Lewis converting.

Game star: George Strachan for the Outlaws was strong in defence and determined in attack, a fine display.

Game breaker: The Buffaloes were on top on 77 minutes but just couldn't retain the drop-out; another set of 6 tackles on the Outlaws line may have resulted in a match winning try. Instead the Outlaws re-gathered and scored themselves.

Nottingham Outlaws: 1. Tom Tsang, 2. Roy Yorke, 3. Myles Rutherford, 4. Ben Radford, 5. Will Thomas, 6. Paul Calland, 7. James Lewis, 8. Adam Millward, 9. Rob Brown, 10. Simon Perry, 11. George Strachan, 12. Aiden Pritchard, 13. Simon Morton. Subs (all used), 14. Rory McQueen, 15. Jez Cox, 16. Bryan Waldram, 17. Ian Keevil.

Tries: Thomas (5), Pritchard (24), Perry (35 & 78), Strachan (44), Radford (58),
Goals: Brown 2/4, Lewis 1/2

Bramley Buffaloes: 1. Andy McGann, 2. Nick Fontaine, 3. Matthew Booth, 4. Dan Caston, 5. Shaun Flynn, 6. Paul Drake, 7. Jon Nicholls, 8. Chris Gardner, 9. Graham Harrison, 10. Alex White, 11. Simon Speight, 12. John Elliker, 13. Danny O'Connor. Subs (all used). 14. Craig Green, 15. Aidy Manley, 16. Jim Shuttleworth, 17. Richard Leese

Tries: Fontaine (38), Gardner (55), Shuttleworth (64), Drake (69)
Goals: Drake 3/4,

Sin-Binned: O'Connor (Buffaloes) 27 mins – High Tackle; Leese (Buffaloes) 43 mins – Holding down in the tackle
Dismissed: Elliker (Buffaloes) 50 mins – High tackle

Half-time: 14-4
Final score: 30-22

Man of the Match:
Nottingham Outlaws - George Strachan
Bramley Buffaloes - Chris Gardner