Jack Stapley’s excellent try in the final minute of this thrilling twelve-try affair was what put Nottingham over the top against Ampthill, claiming their first competitive win of the new year.
It was a fantastic set of offloads which set up the Nottingham centre to score the final all-important try after Ampthill had fought back from fourteen points down to draw level in the last ten minutes.
Ampthill scored the first try within the first five minutes after Nottingam spilt the ball in midfield. They spread the ball wide and winger Ben Harris galloped into the space and had enough momentum to ground the ball despite a last ditch tackle.
Craig Hammond’s men levelled ten minutes later though,with a fast flowing move superbly finished off by Harry Graham following a chip and chase on his 50th appearance for the club.
The two sides exchanged blows for much of the rest of the first half, with Archie Van Der Flier and Stapley twice putting the visitors ahead, but only to concede an equaliser shortly after on both occasions though Samson Adejimi and Tobias Elliott.
With the teams all square at 19 at half time, Nottingham came out on fire after the break, scoring twice in the first ten minutes through Michael Stronge after a quickly tapped penalty from close range, and Harry Clayton powering over the line.
This is when Ampthill got themselves back in the game though, with Adejimi scooping up an overthrown Nottingham lineout to score and swing the momentum back in favour of the Bedfordshire outfit.
Morgan Stronge and Josh Skelcey got over the line in the following fifteen minutes to seemingly complete an impressive comeback, but Stapley’s try right before the whistle blew snatched the all-important four winning points for the Green and Whites which saw them leapfrog their opponents in the league