Nottingham were unable to close out their 2022/23 Championship campaign with a win, falling to a determined London Scottish side who came into the game needing a win to secure their Championship status next season.

The visitors started the game as they meant to go on, winning a penalty in the first five minutes and kicking it to the corner. However, Nottingham dealt with it very well, and so when they won another penalty just a few moments later, they decided to go for the posts. Nathan Chamberlain slotted it.

After going down early, Nottingham worked their way into the game and were playing some nice rugby. However, when Sam Hollingsworth tried a cheeky kick over the top to his wingers at the halfway line. Cameron Anderson cut it out and saw nothing but green grass in front of him, running half the length of the pitch to score.

Nottingham eventually got on the scoreboard at the 26-minute mark through Xavier Valentine, who capitalised on a well-executed driving maul from a lineout to dive over the line for his first try for the club

The visitors slotted another penalty soon after, but the Green and Whites got another try right before half time. They kicked a penalty to the corner once again, and this time it was Javiah Pohe who pushed through a number of bodies to get over the line and make it a 12-13 game.

Scottish came out of the break and pretty much immediately won a penalty at the Nottingham 22 and kicked it to the corner. After some stout try line defence kept them out for a while, Hayden Hyde eventually found a gap. There was some controversy over whether he dropped it before he got the ball down, but the referee awarded the try.

Nottingham came back trying to get back into it though and created a dangerous looking attack when Harry Graham broke up the left hand side to get the Green and Whites to the Scottish 22. However, the attack was foiled when Carl Kirwan mishandled the ball just as he was about to get over the line for the score.

They eventually did get their try five minutes later when Jordan Olowofela showed off some quick feet in the middle to get past a couple of defenders and dive over the line.

With the difference just one point, Nottingham had a big scare with just under twenty minutes to play when they lost a scrum in their own half. Scottish countered and kicked it over the top for their winger to chase down. David Williams had to get his body in the way to put it out for a Scottish lineout five metres from the try line. From the lineout, Nottingham’s defence stood strong, pushing back the driving maul and winning a penalty to clear their lines.

The next fifteen minutes played out with both teams creating chances but never really putting in the finishing touches to get that all-important next try.

But with less than a minute left on the clock, David Williams found space up the right hand side. He burst into it, sparking an incredibly promising Nottingham attack to try and go ahead. However, London Scottish did well to get back and defend it, eventually pushing a maul into touch with the clock in the red to seal their win and all but secure their place in next season’s Championship.