The new fixture list for the 2024/25 Championship season has been released with Mike Rayer’s side facing Caldy first on Saturday 21st September at Goldington Road as Bedford Blues look ahead to the new rugby union campaign.
A tough away fixture at old rivals, Coventry follows the next weekend before Goldington Road welcomes Hartpury in the first weekend of October. Another pair of tricky games in Penzance against Cornish Pirates and Doncaster Knights at home follow.
With just five league games down, the Championship takes a break to accommodate the cup campaign with Nottingham the next league encounter, scheduled for 30th November. The fixtures for the cup are yet to be released.
There is no traditional Boxing Day or New Year’s Day fixture this season, with a trip to league new boys, Chinnor on 21st December followed by a home game against Cambridge on Saturday 28th December filling the festive slots.
Fans of the ‘Battle of Bedfordshire’ will have to wait for the new calendar year to rekindle local rivalries, as Ampthill visit Goldington Road on 18th January 2025 before the reverse fixture on 10th May.
Caldy bookend the season, as the Blues visit Merseyside for the final league game on Saturday 31st May 2025.
Promotion on the line
The new Championship season brings with it a higher chance of glory, as the RFU confirmed that a two-legged play-off with the bottom Premiership side would take place at the beginning of June to decide on promotion and relegation.
There is also a higher chance of peril; Jersey Reds’ demise at the beginning of the last campaign gave Championship sides immunity from relegation which they will not receive this time around.
Blues fans will be looking higher rather than lower, but the mechanics of achieving promotion go far beyond results on the field, and Mike Rayer and his team have been keen to stress that there are a lot of hurdles to jump in that regard.
There’s only a month to wait to see Rayer’s charges back out on the Goldington Road turf as Blackheath of National League One visit for the Blues’ first pre-season friendly on Friday 23rd August.
Two tough pre-season challenges in Saracens and Northampton Saints follow, the latter being played at Franklin’s Gardens in the latest instalment of the Mobbs Memorial match on Friday 13th September.
Chairman of the Championship Clubs, Simon Halliday commented on the higher stakes involved this season, doubling down on the success of the committee in gaining a more respectable promotion and relegation scenario.
“The value of the Championship was clear for all to see last season. The quality of rugby played was exceptional, crowds were up, and they were hugely entertained by fast, open and positive play which was particularly evident in the Premiership Cup.
“The role of our league as a conveyor belt of talent for English rugby will continue to feature strongly as we build and invest in our competition through the development of a new league in 25/26.
“The idea of promotion and relegation is now a long-term reality after recent Council decisions and for the first time in some years there is the genuine chance for our clubs to challenge for the top table in English rugby.
“This brings equivalent excitement and jeopardy to the Premiership which we all desire and which is the lifeblood of any competition.”
Season tickets are now available to purchase from the Bedford Blues website here, while the full fixture list for 2024/25 can be viewed here.
