Bedford Blues began their home campaign this afternoon as they welcomed London Scottish to Goldington Road, looking to get into the winning enclosure for the first time in the 2022/23 season.
Both sides suffered opening day losses; the Blues losing 26-18 at Coventry last Friday night while Scottish fell 31-10 at home to Nottingham.
Mike Rayer made five changes to the losing side at Coventry, with four changes in the pack as well as Ethan Grayson returning to the back line after England youth duty.
Read: Rayer rings the changes for visit of London Scottish
After an impeccably served minute’s silence, the action got underway but there was only two minutes on the clock when a serious looking injury to Alex Woolford led to an earlier than expected debut for Kayde Sylvester.
After a ten-minute delay, Bedford gained possession and set about Scottish territory and following a couple of penalties, new captain Alex Day touched down to score Bedford’s opening try of the afternoon.
Fast start for the Blues
Poor Scottish kicking led to the Blues’ next opening; a smart run by Michael Le Bourgeois ended with a simple pass to Ethan Grayson to run in under the posts to increase Bedford’s lead to 14-0.
A third try followed almost immediately; Matt Worley showing stunning pace down the right wing to ease away from the chasing defence and with Maisey nailing his third conversion from three, Bedford led 21-0 with just fifteen minutes on the clock.
London Scottish were on the board halfway through the first half however as Will Hobson scrambled over, with Jamie Benson converting to reduce the deficit to 21-7.
The Scottish intervention was only a temporary stop to the bleeding though as the Blues bonus point was secured by prolific winger, Dean Adamson with his 104th try in Bedford colours.
A late yellow card for Charles Rylands and a second try for the Scottish put a slight dampener on a good first half for Rayer’s men, but it was the home side who went into the break with a deserved 28-14 lead.
Scottish fight back
The second half began in much the same vain as the first; truncated by injury stoppages but it was London Scottish the first on the scoreboard; Will Trenholm’s try reducing 14-man Bedford’s lead to nine points.
A Maisey penalty extended the lead to twelve, but the Scottish driving maul paid huge dividends moments later as Will Trenholm dotted down his second of the afternoon to keep the side from the capital within touching distance.
They were level shortly after the hour mark thanks to another driving maul finished off by Sam Riley and all of a sudden, the momentum was with the visitors.
Such is life at Goldington Road though, the mood can turn on a sixpence; the effervescent Maisey escaping the defence from the kick off, and he fed Adamson who chased down his own kick to restore Bedford’s seven point lead.
London Scottish were not going away though; Will Trenholm secured his hat-trick with ten minutes remaining but with Benson missing the conversion, Bedford’s lead remained at 38-36.
Straight from the kick off, Bedford responded once again, Jake Garside latching on to another Maisey assist to dive home in the corner, the lead back at seven with Maisey missing his first conversion of the afternoon.
He made amends though as he slotted home two penalties in as many minutes to end the plucky Scottish fightback and give his side a 49-36 win.
It brought an end to another classic of the Goldington Road genre, a yo-yo tie that both sides can look back on with pride but it was Bedford’s fast start that ultimately did the damage.
Will Maisey’s kicking ability was perhaps the difference, his dependable left boot keeping the Blues at arm’s length despite London Scottish providing their own brand of entertainment as they looked to find parity.
However, it’s Mike Rayer’s charges who come away with a 49-36 victory, and a first league win of the season; a much-needed confidence boost as Bedford travel to the dangerous Cornish Pirates next week.
