Otley 37 Nottingham 27

Otley produced a wonderful display of rugby, sweeping to a 37-8 lead after 49 minutes, and the fact that they let Nottingham back into this National League One game was due entirely to a lack of discipline.

They conceded far too many penalties and picked up three yellow cards, two of them turning into a red for Maifea Maifea which all added up to them playing a man short for 40 minutes, during which time Nottingham were able to make something of a fightback.

Indiscipline apart, coach Peter Clegg was delighted with the way the team has reacted to his urgings, his two new wingers setting Cross Green alight, Danny Smith haring in for a couple of tries and Steve Parsons bringing the crowd to their feet with a sensational score straight from the second-half kick-off.

He has also made astute signings to replace the three powerful forwards who departed during the summer, Alistair Livesey proving rock-like at prop alongside young Ben Fear and Brendon Back having a solid game on his second-row debut.

Dan Hyde looked very accomplished at open-side until he had to retire with a knee problem, while No 8 Maifea scored a brace of tries and looked powerful in the loose during the 50 minutes he was on the field.

Other Otley points came from two penalties and three conversions from fly half Simon Binns.