It was another case of nearly but not quite for Nottingham as, despite holding a 21 point lead after three quarters of the contest, they were unable to seal the win with Bedford fighting back to earn a 28-28 draw.
The Blues had won five on the trot coming into the match so it was no mean feat for the Archers to have claimed a share of the spoils, especially considering the improvised nature of the back division in the second half due to losing both centres through injury before the 50th minute. Craig Hammond had only named two backs on the bench, neither of whom were midfielders, so he had to get creative with his formation, including putting Josh Goodwin, usually a scrum half, out on the wing.
Fly half Gwyn Parks, who converted all four of his kicks during the evening, was feeling a little crestfallen at the final whistle: “To be 21 points up and in such control, you know, rugby’s a funny game with swings of momentum. It definitely feels like two points lost rather than three points gained. Parts of that game show how good we can be but it was just tough. Bedford are a good side and if you give them an inch they’re going to take it.”
Even though both teams have a reputation for being great entertainers it wasn’t until just after the half hour mark that the deadlock was broken when Harry Graham found space on the left wing to put Nottingham on the board.
Bedford were back on level terms almost immediately however as lock Rory Ward went over under the posts and Will Maisey converted.
Graham then nearly repeated his feat of a few minutes previously but knocked on in the tackle as he dived for the corner, so the score remained tied at seven come the interval.
Nottingham were immediately on the offensive after the break with Jack Dickinson driving over within five minutes of the restart to put the Archers back in front.
Things got even better for the hosts ten minutes later as Bedford try scorer Ward was sent to the sin bin and Sam Green capitalised by plunging over. The visitors were reduced to 13 soon after when full back Louis James received a yellow card and, once again, Nottingham converted their numerical advantage into points with Dan Richardson adding the bonus point try.
The final quarter of the match belonged to Bedford however, as they struck back through former Archer Oisin Heffernan, Tommy Herman and, in the final minute, George Worth.
There was just time for the restart. Nottingham managed to regain possession and were pushing for the winning score but the visitors held firm just outside their 22 until a misplaced pass by the hosts saw the ball bounce out of play meaning both sides took three points from the encounter.
Despite the disappointment of not holding onto the lead, Parks was feeling confident about Nottingham’s prospects for the remainder of the campaign: “We know in our group how good we are. When we get our stuff right and we focus on us we can definitely be a top four team. We’re a young squad and tight games like this, and versus Worcester [last time out] will help us grow and that will show come the end of the season.”