Report: Exeter Stage Second-Half Comeback to Defeat UoN in BUCS Super Rugby Opener

The University of Nottingham Men’s Rugby Union 1s suffered their first defeat to Exeter in over a year as the visitors staged an impressive second-half comeback to win 42-26 at the BUCS Super Rugby Headliner.

A sold-out crowd packed into Highfields and was treated to a breathless opening half. First-team debutant Charlie Kingsford could hardly have asked for a better start, crossing for a try inside the opening four minutes. Matty Cooke added the conversion to give the Green and Gold an early 7-0 lead.

Exeter soon struck back. Felix Starkey broke through the Nottingham defensive line before finding Will Lane, who went over and converted his own try to level the scores.

The end-to-end action continued as a high ball bounced awkwardly in the Nottingham backfield, allowing John Edwards to pounce and score Exeter’s second converted try.

Nottingham responded in style. Julian Nunn collected the ball just beyond halfway before dancing through the Exeter defence and touching down beneath the posts, leaving Cooke to add a straightforward conversion.

A powerful carry from Alex Kerr then took UoN from deep inside their own half towards halfway. The Green and Gold built on that momentum and regained the lead through a driving maul, with Cooke’s conversion making it 21-14.

Nottingham finished the half strongly after a yellow card temporarily reduced Exeter to 14 men. Ediz Karsak, Impact’s one to watch before the match, took advantage by crossing for UoN’s fourth try. The conversion went wide, but the score gave the hosts a 12-point cushion shortly before the interval.

Exeter mounted one final attack before the break, but Nottingham held firm close to their own line to preserve a 26-14 half-time lead.

The visitors emerged from the changing rooms with renewed purpose and dominated the opening stages of the second half. Their pressure was rewarded when replacement Harry Woodman crossed following a sustained spell near the Nottingham line. The conversion reduced UoN’s lead to 26-21.

Nottingham then enjoyed their best spell of the half, working their way to within ten metres of the Exeter line. However, an overthrown lineout handed possession back to the visitors at a crucial moment.

A knock-on halted another Exeter attack around the hour mark, before Nottingham won a penalty at the resulting scrum to earn some temporary relief.

That relief proved short-lived. Less than five minutes later, Joshua Golden-Clarke burst down the left wing and outpaced the covering defenders to score Exeter’s fourth try. Another successful conversion put the visitors ahead 28-26.

It was a lead they would not surrender. After another prolonged spell of pressure, Exeter used a strong scrum as the platform for their fifth try of the evening. The conversion stretched their advantage to 35-26.

Nottingham were forced to defend for much of the closing stages before a scuffle involving UoN’s Tom Cunningham and Exeter’s Oisin Smith resulted in both players being sent to the sin-bin in the 76th minute.

The Green and Gold launched their strongest attack of the half soon afterwards, with a powerful driving maul taking them agonisingly close to the Exeter line. The visitors survived, however, before stealing Nottingham’s subsequent lineout.

Woodman then broke away to score his second try of the night. Exeter added the conversion to complete a 42-26 victory.

The match ultimately proved to be a tale of two halves. Nottingham were clinical and energetic before the interval, building a deserved 12-point lead, but an invigorated Exeter side took control after the restart and barely put a foot wrong.

For UoN, the challenge will be to reproduce the quality of their first-half performance across the full 80 minutes when they travel to face Loughborough next week.

Featured image courtesy of UoNSport. No changes were made to this image

Article image 1 courtesy of UoNSport. No changes were made to this image