Austin nails chance for bizarre win at Lady Bay
BIZARRE. That was one way of describing how Hartpury squeezed to a fifth win from six games this year at a cold Lady Bay on Friday evening.
“I don’t know what to say,” admitted Hartpury head coach Mark Cornwell after a full-bloodied encounter was settled by a penalty goal from Mike Austin in the 61st minute.
“It’s bizarre. I’ve never been involved in a match where you gain more league points than you actually score in a match.”
No one would have forecasted such a low-scoring match, especially considering both teams have posted 50 or more tries in Championship games at nearly four a game.
Both teams were hit by injuries and the on-going shuffling of players from Premiership allies due to Friday’s Cup clash between Gloucester and Leicester.
Overall, Hartpury can claim deserved winner status for the way they bossed the final quarter after Austin had landed the penalty from 25 metres out.
Austin might have had a couple more chances for kicks at goal only for captain Will Crane to opt for lineout calls in an attempt to put his team more than a converted try ahead.
That ploy ultimately failed, but it also soaked up time and kept Nottingham rooted in their own 22 despite increasingly desperate attempts to break out.
Nottingham have built a reputation for attacking rugby on their home patch. However, a high penalty count and a stuttering start derailed them.
They lost powerful lock Come Joussain due to a thigh injury in the ninth minute while wing David Williams was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle.
Nottingham had the best of the opening 30 minutes and fly-half Matt
Arden, who has been a big plus since his arrival from Northampton, struck an upright from a penalty in the 28th minute. Hartpury had one sustained assault and were held up just short in their best attack.
Apart from those incidents, the first half was honest toil and not a lot else in a match of cancelling each other out.
Hartpury took command from the start of the second half powered along by a sturdier pack and the all-round skills of halfbacks Austin and Morgan Adderly-Jones.
Hartpury’s pressure ultimately earned that penalty and Austin put them ahead to establish a lead they held onto.
In contrast to Hartpury’s good start to 2024, Nottingham have only a win over Ampthill to show for their efforts. Frustrated coach Craig Hammond said: “We needed players to take a grasp of the match and none did. It’s difficult to explain. We wanted to attack like we do, but just weren’t on our game.”