Shakin' All Over

It was a lovely morning for rugby, but a heavy dew meant a damp surface for the first time this season. Whether it was the conditions or a general lethargy, Harborough put themselves under pressure from the start. A knock on from the kick off resulted in a scrum to the visitors. Quick ball and the Nottingham inside centre sliced straight through any attempt at tackles and scored. The fly half converted, and Nottingham were 0 – 7 ahead.

Harborough settled and managed to retain plenty of possession, but Nottingham had an offensive defence strategy that saw them up to the rucks quicker than the home pack. A few breaks from the back row of James Melody, Will Hallam and Harry Grimmett were snuffed out. Then almost out of nowhere a failure again to deal with the away runners resulted in a second converted try for Nottingham. The game was actually quite close in play, but Nottingham were taking their chances.

Quick ball at a series of rucks for Harborough looked more like themselves and Will Hallam took a quick tap penalty to score under the posts. That closed the first half with Harborough 7 – 14 down, but certainly in touch.

With a half time instruction to play the ball in the Nottingham half ringing in their ears, Harborough put themselves under pressure again from the restart, with a hack through resulting in a chase to the try line. Nottingham won. Another hack forward and another try put Nottingham 7 – 28 ahead and it was always going to be difficult from there.

Alejandro Scott came close a couple of times, and was adjudged held up over the line on one occasion. Harry Grimmett tried to burst through. Will Nijjer and Parth Bhatt made the hard yards. But Nottingham’s defence was resolute and Harborough were not able to add to their tally. A rare home defeat.