Bedford Blues scored six tries, with Will Maisey scoring twenty points, in an impressive 45-24 victory against a dangerous Cornish Pirates side as Mike Rayer’s men resumed winning ways in the Championship.
Matt Worley scored two tries, alongside Maisey, Louis James, Joe Howard and Luke Frost in front of over 3,500 fans at Goldington Road as the Blues maintain second place in the division, one point ahead of a resurgent Coventry.
The start was a dramatic and controversial one.
The Pirates spilled the kick off and it looked as if the Blues would have immediate territory, but instead a wayward pass ended up in the hands of Chester Ribbons.
Expecting the whistle to blow for a knock on, Bedford stopped in their tracks, but there was no shrill blast incoming and it allowed the Pirates’ centre to run the length of the pitch to score the game’s opening try after just 25 seconds.
Bedford keep responding
It took just four minutes for Mike Rayer’s men to respond as Matt Worley dotted down as the extra man on the right wing, and when Maisey pinged home the conversion, the Blues were level at 7-7 in what was a frantic beginning.
Michael Le Bourgeois’ smart work had stopped the Pirates escaping for their second try after 13 minutes, but in giving the ball away to the athletic Matt McNab, the Blues welcomed their opponents into their territory, and eventually the Pirates regained the lead.
Despite some stoic defending, and many phases, it was McNab who would finish the move he had started in touching down under the posts to put the Pirates 14-7 ahead.
Again, Bedford hit back immediately thanks to a genius dink over the defence from the excellent Will Maisey, giving himself enough space to run on and collect his own kick, running in under the posts to make it 14-14.
Joe Howard got involved with the kicking game in the next play, aiming a perfect chip for Dean Adamson to run on to, but the bounce of the ball denied the Blues’ perennial try scorer another Goldington Road try.
It wasn’t long before Bedford were ahead.
The Pirates soaked up immense pressure, but after multiple attempts at smuggling the ball over the whitewash, the ball was worked out wide to Worley who bundled over his second try of the game, with Maisey converting in expert fashion.
Maisey’s simpler penalty with five minutes remaining of the first half gave Bedford a ten-point cushion at 24-14, and with Alfie Bell sin-binned with a minute left on the clock for the visitors, it left the Pirates with an uphill task for the second half.
Blues soar clear in second half
That task was made all the more difficult as Arthur Relton dropped a relatively simple kick on his own 22 in the early throws of the second period, giving the Blues immediate territory.
A penalty soon followed, and when the ball was worked infield, there was Louis James darting on to a Tuilagi pass to sprint in the bonus point score for Bedford, converted by Maisey in bizarre yet brilliant fashion as he was forced into an impromptu drop goal after the ball fell off the tee.
The end result was the same as the rest of his kicks; sailing through the centre, to open up a 31-14 lead for the home side.
Pressure was building on the Pirates and Bedford Blues were relentless; Joe Howard scoring the fifth try after his quick tap penalty allowed him to run in from five metres.
The latest score seemed to spur the Pirates into action; Relton making amends for his previous error with a try of his own from the restart, before his break down the right wing caused the Blues defence to scramble, resulting in a yellow card for Le Bourgeois.
More strong defence from the Blues held up the Pirates shortly after, allowing Bedford to escape from a ten-minute spell of Cornish pressure, and when a Will Trewin kick from his own 22 soared all the way out at the other end, the Blues were free to breathe.
At 38-19, it felt like too big a hurdle for the Pirates to jump with just ten minutes left on the Goldington Road clock, despite a 73rd-minute try for replacement, Harry Yates.
So it proved as the Blues withstood a late barrage from the white shirts of the Pirates, and their defence was rewarded with the last score of the game thanks to an ugly-looking sixth try from Luke Frost, securing a 45-24 win for Bedford Blues.
The triumph keeps the Blues in second place in the Championship, behind champions-elect, Ealing who dismantled Nottingham 82-5 in West London, while Coventry squeezed past Chinnor 45-37 to remain third.
Doncaster Knights also kept their hopes of a top four finish alive with a convincing 42-5 win at London Scottish, while Hartpury and Ampthill were also victors at Caldy and Cambridge respectively.
The challenges keep coming for Bedford Blues, who travel to a bogey ground at Castle Park in Doncaster next Saturday (5 April) before hosting Nottingham at Goldington Road the following week.
