Left Lineout: February

Sunday 15 February 2015
reading time: min, words
"Nottingham Rugby has a proper home of its own. That’s right, folks: after years of blood, sweat and tears, we’re back at the Bay"
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Illustration: Adam Poole

The Six Nations opener in Cardiff and England’s incredible second-half comeback; the Millenium Stadium roof; Owen Farrell’s tournament ending injury a fortnight before that Cardiff showpiece; Sam Burgess and his faltering transition from League superstar to Union heavyweight, as born out in the Saxons’ war of attrition with the Wolfhounds in Cork; Toulouse and their spectacular Champions Cup collapse in Montpellier; Danny Cipriani turning his back on Toulon; Delon Armitage opening his mouth again...

There are so many places where we could land in Planet Rugby this month, but in reality there’s only one runway we’re heading down. That’s right, folks: after years of blood, sweat and tears, we’re back at the Bay.

For the first time since leaving Ireland Avenue nearly a decade ago, Nottingham Rugby has a proper home of its own. Bricks and mortar, and a truckload or two of tarpaulin. Alright, it needs a bit of work: there’s a few loose floorboards, we’ve not finished unpacking yet and one or two more toilets might be nice, but by ‘eck, it’s ours and we threw one hell of a housewarming party.

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Campese Ma'afu

It wasn’t all singing and all dancing in the build-up, however. Martin Haag was apparently on the radio in the days before the clash with Plymouth Albion on January 18, raising the point that some of the players weren’t overly pleased with swapping the comfort and relative luxury of Meadow Lane for a muddy field and a tent (a bit odd given the squad trained at Lady Bay anyway), but that didn’t stop a rip-roaring occasion from captivating the 1,600 that packed into the Bay for the big day.

The game itself was something of a thriller, though not entirely for the right reasons. In tell-tale fashion it was skipper Brent Wilson who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, putting in the kind of captain’s performance that reminds you how lucky we are to have a player of his class. A hattrick in the opening 50 minutes put us in a commanding position, though we should have been done and dusted by half time. Still, despite a gutsy performance from a Plymouth side fighting for their lives on and off the field (a nod to that in a minute), and a refereeing performance that had many of the assembled Green and White brigade crying into their IPA, when Rory Lynn kicked the winning penalty in the dying seconds the cheer (and the collective boo for our dear referee) eclipsed anything ever heard inside Meadow Lane. And that’s the moment Lady Bay became home.

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Sean Romans

If the homecoming was a triumphant affair, the Meadow Lane send-off was no less spectacular an occasion. Meadow Lane may not have always been ideal, but it’s given Nottingham Rugby a home where otherwise we may not have had one, and should the club plot their way to the top flight, we shouldn’t forget that it is Meadow Lane that would host Premiership rugby. For that reason alone, we should all cross our fingers and hope we’re back before too long.

As we welcomed London Scottish for the last hurrah at the Lane, the evergreen Dan Montagu, on the occasion of his 150th appearance for the club, was given the captain’s armband. And what a game it was. A rampant Nottingham pack teed up three unanswered tries, but we were consistently pegged back by the boot of Peter Lydon, who then squandered a chance to steal what would have a thoroughly undeserved victory when he pushed a last-minute penalty wide of the upright.

Between the final game at Meadow Lane and cutting the ribbon at the Bay we travelled to Rotherham and came away with a priceless win in some incredibly difficult conditions, a fierce wind making a mockery of any attempt to play any sort of kicking game.  A narrow, late defeat away at Jersey after Tom Calladine was sin-binned in the dying minutes, allowing the home side to capitalise on their numerical advantage, couldn’t take the shine of what was a fantastic  January. 2015 has well and truly started in style.

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Finlay Barham

Of course, there was the absolute mauling at the hands of Worcester Warriors but, new stadium or not, we’re a million miles away from being in their league. While we’re now a Championship club playing in a Championship ground, Worcester look a club every bit ready for a return to the big time.

The struggle of Plymouth Albion, our first opponents back at the Bay, who are on the verge of complete financial disintegration; the continued and widening gulf in resources between a swollen Aviva Premiership and a rather neglected RFU Championship; the sad, sad retirement of Finlay Barnham, forced out of the game through the same unfortunate set of circumstances that did for Jacko; the rather pleasing look of the RFU Championship table; any of the games above, each of which could have yielded a dozen talking points...

There are so many harbours from which we could set sail in Planet Rugby this month, but in reality there’s only one jetty we’re departing from. It’s Green and White, and you’ll find it at Lady Bay. See you down there.

#BackAtTheBay

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