It was a try-scoring but not a triumphant return to the side for club captain Nathan Tweedy as Nottingham were left to count the cost of ill discipline in a 27-22 loss to Caldy, with three of their opponent’s tries being scored while the Archers were reduced to 14 men.
Their first came a quarter of the way through the encounter after the Ravers had worked hard to keep the ball alive in the tackle, eventually finding Tristan Woodman in space on the wing, afforded to him partially by Harry Clayton having seen yellow for a trip five minutes previously.
Matt Arden narrowed the gap with a penalty but, with Nottingham back to a full complement of players they conceded again, this time home skipper JJ Dickinson going over. However, slack defence from the hosts allowed the Archers to respond immediately via Kai Owen, with Arden adding the extras.
Lewis Barker slotted a penalty in the last act of the first half and Caldy were good value for their 15-10 lead at the break.
Coach Craig Hammond evidently offered some inspirational words in the interval as Nottingham presented a different proposition at the start of the second half. Kegan Christian-Goss scored his second try in as many matches six minutes after the restart. Then, with Joseph Sproston in the bin for Caldy after persistent infringements by his side, Tweedy crossed the whitewash to put Nottingham ahead by seven.
However, with the game entering the final ten minutes, there was another shift of momentum with both replacement hookers in the centre of the action. First, Antonio Harris received a yellow card for the Archers, allowing Matt Gallagher to capitalise with a late brace of tries, the second finishing off a lovely free-flowing move by the hosts, making the final score Caldy 27-22 Nottingham.