NOTTINGHAM Rugby again came out on the wrong end of a 21-16 scoreline against Bristol in their final B&I Cup fixture at Meadow Lane.

With both teams playing open rugby, it was a game that could have gone either way right until the final minute.

The Green & Whites' inexperienced youngsters gave away penalties which proved the difference and if the visitors' kicker Mark Davies, had had his kicking boots on, then the winning margin could have been bigger.

As it was, Nottingham could have won the game in the dying moments but their composure let them down as Bristol intercepted a pass close to their own line.

"It was a game we could have won," said the Green and Whites director of rugby, Glenn Delaney. "There were a number of areas when we made a couple of breaks but we didn't finish them off with tries.

"We lost a little bit of composure towards the end when we had a penalty and could have put it in the corner and put some pressure on.

"The break-down was a lottery. We struggled to get the interpretations there and we never really got enough into those break-downs.

"From there, they were pretty efficient and are basic at what they do.

"We had a lot of our young guys out there because some of our senior players are not quite on the park just yet because of their injuries.

"However, I felt the team we had out was good enough to win but we fell five points short. That's disappointing but it is a learning experience for them all.

"I thought the midfield in the first half was very good. If we had managed to keep Tom Casson on the park for the second half, it may have been different.

"He created a lot of opportunities and caused their defence problems."

Nottingham played some fast flowing rugby and took initiative in the early minutes to force hooker Tom Youngs over for the opening try after nine minutes. David Jackson added the two points with the conversion.

Three minutes later, Bristol hit back when Mark Davies slotted over a delayed penalty from 25m out.

The Green and Whites continued to run ball and Casson was giving the opposing defence a torrid time but it Bristol took the lead on 27 minutes.

Their No.7 James Merriman made the break through a static home defence, sold a dummy and then passed to centre Alex Crockett, who strolled behind the posts. Davies converted.

Another Davies penalty stretched Bristol's lead on 35 minutes.

Nottingham hit back with a Jackson penalty after substitute James Phillips was sin-binned after a deliberate knock-on but Davies made it 16-10 just before the break.

Jackson kicked another penalty in the 45th minute but lack of concentration in the home defence allowed Luke Arscott through for another try.

Jackson reduced the deficit with a penalty after 53 minutes and though they persevered, Nottingham didn't have the guile to break down the Bristol defence in the final half-hour.

Delaney was disappointed with some decisions. "I was really struggling to understand why we were being penalised, there didn't appear to so many the other way," he said.

Nottingham: Jackson, Savage, Forsyth (Cobden), Casson Marshall), Streather, Tonks, White (Usasz, Rouse), Parr, Youngs (Sammons), Du Plessis (Buxton), Nimmo (Sherriff, Raven, Hemmingway, Everard, Eggleshaw.