Nottingham Outlaws ended their 2026 Midlands campaign with a narrow 36–34 victory against bottom side Aston Warriors in Birmingham on Saturday.
In what was literally a “game of two halves”, the Outlaws scorched to a 32–8 half-time lead but then capitulated in the second half, allowing the home side to claw their way back in front before snatching a late try to seal a narrow victory.
The Outlaws went into the game missing a whole host of regular players, with no fewer than three players making their first-team debut. However, despite the upheaval, the Outlaws started confidently and soon took complete control of the game. Indeed, they started in whirlwind fashion, scoring at the rate of a point a minute, with an excellent early brace from Uchenna Okereke, while Izaac Oxford, Jacob Butler and Fin Tetlow also added fine tries. Indeed, the all-Trent backline was proving simply too hot for the Warriors to handle as the Outlaws scorched into a 26–0 lead with thirty first-half minutes played.
Unfortunately, this season has seen the Outlaws consistently leak tries in the lead-up to half-time and, once again, this regular occurrence came back to haunt them as poor defence allowed the home side to claw their way back into the game with a couple of tries. However, a settler on half-time by impressive full-back Luke Wadding saw the Outlaws calm their nerves and close out the scoring in the first stanza with what looked like a comfortable 32–8 lead.
As the second half started, with the Outlaws now playing up the slope, it became immediately apparent how much of an influence the pronounced incline was having on affairs. Indeed, the Outlaws struggled to make any early yardage and, with their defence falling off the tackle with alarming regularity, they began to leak tries.
The trouble started ten minutes into the second stanza with an Aston try from a position of no immediate danger, and two minutes later they added another to reduce the arrears to 18–32.
Scenting blood, the home side continued to run at pace down the hill at an Outlaws defence that had sadly capitulated at this point in the game, and a further three home tries saw the Warriors finally overturn the Outlaws’ lead as the home side crept into a 34–32 lead with seven minutes left on the clock.
With the Outlaws staring down the barrel of a gun, they managed to launch a final attack, and they snatched victory at the death as young Cameron Frater bagged an inaugural first-team try to nudge the Outlaws ahead at 36–34, seconds before the final whistle sounded.
A somewhat relieved Outlaws squad had finally rounded off a lacklustre season with an away victory that almost eluded them. There were several stand-out performances, mainly in the first half, but the man-of-the-match award deservedly went to Luke Wadding for an assured performance in attack and defence.
