With both teams realistically having little to play for, it looked like the two scratch teams would struggle.  In fact the game, despite the large number of penalties, proved surprisingly free flowing.

Nottingham threatened early with a nice chip kick that only the speed of Norton prevented being touched down.  The resulting scrum saw the Notts hooker over for a converted try.

Bristol fly-half Davies narrowed the gap just minutes later with a good kick.  Nottingham, despite this set back,  continued to cause Bristol problems.  So, it was rather against the run of play when James Merriman broke through the first line of defence, dummied and flung out a pass to debutant Alex Crockett.  The controversial signing sauntered over under the posts.  Davies converted for a 7 - 10 lead.  Davies extended the lead with another penalty.

James Phillips came on as a replacement and then promptly went off again when he was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.  Notts rightly went for the posts to edge closer at 10 - 13.  Sadly for them Davies extended the Bristol lead just before half time: 10 - 16.

With Bristol a man down, Nottingham sought a way through the solid Bristol defence.  A lack of patience saw possession kicked away when a grubber kick ran dead.  Jackson narrowed the gap with a well taken penalty and just minutes later equalised the score at 16-all.  However, slack Nottingham defending allowed Luke Arscott to show his pace and skill, speeding down the wing to go over in the corner.  Davies was off target with his attempted conversion but Bristol led 16 - 21.

Bristol  tried to attack against a somewhat deflated home side.  A good forwards' drive took the ball close to the line before the backs attempted to break the defence.  Norton was given space out wide but a fine tackle saw him lose the ball forward.  Nottingham regathered themselves and plugged away,  but lacked the cutting edge necessary.  The last action saw Notts hammer away at Bristol only to concede an obvious interception that nearly led to a flattering Bristol try, only for former Nottingham player Dan Montagu to clumsily knock on.

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