The wind blowing down the ground was clearly going to be a factor in the outcome of the match and in the end it contributed to two halves of rugby that were practically a mirror image of one another with the crucial difference being a solitary missed conversion from Nottingham’s Gwyn Parks.

With the wind at their backs in the first half the Archers were dominating territory and midway through the period Dan Richardson piled over after a series of pick and goes. Gwyn Parks added the extras.

Five minutes later, with a scrum in the shadow of the posts, Nottingham won a penalty but didn’t need it as they shipped the ball wide left for Luke Rokomoce to dive over in the corner. Parks was hoping the wind would have a greater effect on his conversion attempt than it did as his kick slid past the right hand upright.

The lead was further extended just after the half hour mark when Craig Hammond’s men were camped back in the Caldy 22 with James Cherry crashing over and Parks converting.

It was Caldy’s turn to knock on Nottingham’s door in the closing stages of the half but determined defence forced a missed pass that backed the hosts up, and they were then penalised for holding on in the tackle. Parks opted to head for the sheds with his side in front 19-0.

With the change of ends it was Caldy’s turn to camp themselves in their opponents half and within 10 minutes of the restart Ollie Wynn slipped down the blind side of the ruck to race into the Nottingham 22. The ball was worked through the hands to find Will Robinson on the opposite side of the field to break Caldy’s duck. Kieran Wilkinson slotted the first of his three successful conversion attempts.

Shortly afterwards Luke Rokomoce was given a yellow card for taking out a man in the air for a second time. Caldy hooker Ollie Hearn’s last act before being replaced was to drive over at the back of the maul from the ensuing penalty. Wilkinson once again converted to bring the home side back within five.

As the game entered its final ten minutes, another fast break by Caldy resulted in Charlie Hyde going over in the corner. Wilkinson stepped up from a similar position to where Parks had missed in the first half but was able to bisect the posts to put the Ravers into the lead for the first time.

With the clock ticking down and the wind slightly abating Nottingham made their furthest foray into Caldy territory and had a chance to snatch the victory with a five metre lineout. However, the hosts’ defence stood firm and, in echoes of the end of the first half, as the attack chose to go through the hands, rather than continue plugging away at the line, the ball was mis-handled and referee Andrew Jackson brought proceedings to a close.

Captain David Williams summed up the day’s events: “Caldy away is always a tough place to come. We gave away too many penalties and had the yellow card and gave ourselves a lot to do in the second half. The team are really disappointed but we need to park it, review it and get better. We’re on the edge of the playoffs and that’s our aim, to get into the top six, and I have no doubts that we can make it.”