Bedford Blues finally claimed a prized Premiership scalp on Friday evening as they beat top-flight high flyers, Bristol Bears 23-14 in the Premiership Cup on an electric night under the floodlights at Goldington Road.
Just five days after gaining new fans in front of the TV cameras at The Rec against Bath, the Blues went one step further in claiming a stunning victory in front of over 2,700 supporters to add another famous win to the history books of the Blues.
On a wet evening at Goldington Road, it was the Premiership side who gained the ascendency in the early moments; a break from Joe Jenkins ended in a spill over the try line from a white shirt in what became the only chance of a scrappy opening ten minutes.
The slippery conditions also contributed to Bedford drawing first blood.
Deago Bailey fluffed a simple pick up when backtracking to collect a Will Maisey kick, leading to an attacking line out that Oisin Heffernan bundled over from the maul to give the Blues a lead they would never give up.
For all of their possession, the visitors were making few inroads into Bedford territory; a stoic Blues defence holding firm and, thanks to occasional flashes of flair going forward, the home side deservedly doubled their try count.
A cute grubber kick found an onrushing Will Maisey who beat a defender to the ball to touch down on his 100th appearance for the club, and in converting his own score, took the Blues into a 12-0 lead just short of the half hour mark.
Sam Wolstenholme got Bristol on the board with a quick tap penalty to coast over under the posts from a few yards out before Maisey put Bedford beyond a converted score once again with a simple penalty moments later.
It left the Blues with a 15-7 half-time lead after an efficient and pragmatic forty minutes and once again, setting up another tantalising second half against Premiership opposition.
Blues turn the screw
Bristol had the best of the opening throws in the second half, but again it was Bedford who had a glaring opportunity to extend their lead as Matt Worley and Jac Arthur broke, only for James Lennon to drop the ball with the try line at his mercy.
Worley was again in the thick of it a few minutes later, as he was a shirt pull away from escaping to the corner with the Blues continuing to cause the Premiership side issues, and it wasn’t long before the crowd erupted again.
Fred Tuilagi was the man who crashed over after the Bears eventually cracked under enormous pressure and slowly but surely, Bedford had opened up a 20-7 advantage with the decibels around Goldington Road growing.
Will Capon bundled over Bristol’s second try of the evening off the back of a rolling maul to reduce the gap and when Hartpury loanee, Harry Bazalgette slotted an impressive conversion, the Bears were back to within a score.
The decibels had turned into a nervous energy, but when Maisey pinged an equally impressive penalty through the sticks, it gave Bedford breathing space again, and this time, Bristol had ran out of ideas.
In truth, they rarely troubled Bedford territory until the 77th minute, and by then it was too late as another heroic effort stopped the Bears in their tracks to seal a majestic 23-14 victory for Bedford Blues.
Defence to the fore
This group have spoken at length about closing out games where in previous seasons, they had been unable to and again, superb defence and composure were key in assisting a win they were more than deserving of.
In the context of the cup, it’s highly unlikely Bedford Blues will be seeing the latter stages but after three occasions in this group stage where they have ran Premiership opposition close, to finally get over the line is testament to a team who continue to make headlines.
For Bristol Bears, they will need to beat Bath on the final weekend of pool games to give themselves a chance of progression to the quarter-finals as one of three best second placed sides and will rue their lack of cutting edge on a disappointing night.
The Blues fared much better at coping with the conditions, frequently ditching their running style in favour of putting boot to ball and it was this simple change that allowed them to fashion out the chances needed to win.
It’s also worth noting that it isn’t very often that any rugby team are asked to play two games in five days, and the energy levels on show were another huge up tick on a night of many positives.
Mike Rayer’s men will rightly claim the plaudits and the praise, providing another memorable moment for the Championship, proving the second tier clubs are more than worthy of their place in domestic rugby.
The final round of Premiership Cup pool fixtures sees a reigniting of the Battle of Bedfordshire next Saturday (15 February) at Olney Field, while Bristol host Bath needing a victory to keep their cup hopes alive.
