Brendan Cope had an opportunity to clinch victory for the Reds on Friday night with a final-minute conversion, but his attempt clipped the posts and stayed agonisingly wide. Nottingham fly-half Tiff Eden, the Championship’s top points scorer, had converted three penalties in six minutes to punish the Reds, leaving the Channel Islanders with just two points to show from a physical encounter.
‘We had a try in the first minute and a try in the last minute – we need a couple in the middle,’ said Reds head coach Harvey Biljon.
‘There were two or three moments that I think we need to be smarter. We let them in, and we gave away silly penalties that cost us the game.
‘We only got one penalty the whole night. I think there were a fair few decisions that didn’t go our way, but sometimes that happens when you’re battling hard.’
More in Monday’s Final Whistle.