Nottingham battle past Launceston

Launceston's Gavin Quinnell on the losing side at Nottingham (Getty)

Nottingham ran in two late tries to seal a 26-12 win over National League One bottom club Launceston in a hard-fought encounter.

The Cornish All Blacks were beaten 71-3 in the EDF National Trophy on their last trip to Meadow Lane a month ago.

But, after two tries from home hooker Joe Duffy had been cancelled out by the boot of full-back John Fabian, the All Blacks took their hosts all the way.

Lee Morley and Matt Smith's clinching tries came in the last five minutes.

Given the battering they took in that Trophy quarter-final, it was still a spirited effort from Launceston.

With the game more than 10 minutes into the second half, the Cornishmen still led 9-7, only for the second of Duffy's tries to edge Nottingham back in front.

But, after more than 20 minutes of stalemate, the home side finally found a way through.

Replacement lock Morley and centre Smith both crossed late on, each improved by home full-back David Jackson, with only a fourth Fabian penalty squeezed in between, to take their team out of sight.