Green and Whites are ready to trade blows again with Hartpury
CLOSE CONTEST COULD BE ON THE CARDS AT LADY BAY TONIGHT
NOTTINGHAM take on Hartpury University in the Championship tonight (7.45pm) as they welcome the Gloucestershire side to Lady Bay for what promises to be one of the most hotly contested games for either side this season.
These two teams tend to trade blows when they come up against each other and produce some incredible games of rugby.
Indeed, last season saw Hartpury come up with one of the biggest comebacks in recent memory, recovering from 31-7 down to win 45-31 at Nottingham.
It was Nottingham who had the last laugh when they played each other most recently though, with Craig Hammond’s men overcoming a 14-0 deficit in the first half to win 32-20 at Alpas Arena in November.
The Green and Whites haven’t had the best time of it since then, though, having only won two of their last seven Championship matches, although they have been unlucky to only come away with one bonus point in each of their last two matches.
They ran Doncaster Knights close and nearly got a winning try in the final 10 minutes and then played a blinder of a first half in Ealing before unfortunately falling to the powerful league leaders in the second half, losing 52-26.
Ryan Olowofela will be a key player in getting the Archers over the hill tonight, making his second start in a row after spending a large portion of the season injured.
Despite not playing much recently, the speedy winger will doubtless be a handful for Hartpury to deal with. He clocked up nine tries last year and got off the mark for this season with a try last week against Ealing.
Sebastian Ferreira will also start for the second time in a row, having just come back from playing international rugby for Germany in the men’s Rugby Europe Championship a couple of weeks ago.
Hartpury, on the other hand, are on a hot run of form, having smashed Cambridge by 51 points last Friday and triumphing over high-flying Bedford Blues the weekend before.
Harry Short will be looking to get on the scoresheet again, as he is the club’s leading try scorer and has got over the line in each of their last five Championship games. The big back rower has been an integral part of the team since making his debut in 2021.
Robbie Smith is another Hartpury player to watch out for. The centre returned to Gloucestershire at the start of this season having played for Doncaster Knights in 2022-23 and since then has made a huge impact.
He chipped in with a try the last time he played Craig Hammond’s men and ran the show against Cambridge, getting over the line three times for a hat-trick.
These teams boast two of the most dangerous attacks in the league, so they will be sure to put on a highscoring show for the students who turn up for the Student Night promotion Nottingham are running for this game.