The new Champ Rugby season begins this weekend with one of the toughest fixtures of the campaign for Bedford Blues, who travel to reigning champions, Worcester Warriors in matchday one on Saturday, 19 September.
In a repeat of last season’s play-off final, the Blues will be hoping for a modicum of revenge and gunning for a similar result to last season’s Sixways clash, where they scored four tries to beat the Warriors 28-14.
Read: Majestic Bedford Blues complete league double over Worcester Warriors
The defeat in the play-off final still stings for those of a Blues persuasion, but captain Alex Day is determined to use it as fuel for the upcoming season in the hope of going one step further.
“I would be lying if I said it doesn’t still hurt but we will have to use it as fuel for this year”, said the Blues captain at the Champ Rugby media day.
“You don’t get to that stage unless you do the hard work throughout the season. We will take each game as it comes and see where we end up at the end of the season.
“A lot of people forget the hard wins that we got in that winter period to get us where we were. They were some of the most standout. Everyone will remember the play-off games, which were brilliant, but it was a great season.
“We have kept a similar group which is brilliant. Credit to the club, credit to Mikey [Rayer] and credit to the players.
“Everyone enjoys the environment and everyone enjoys coming to work. We have got something pretty special going on”, adds Day.
But while the 26 regular season games plus the season-ending play-offs remain, there are a number of new elements to the new Champ Rugby season, including the fact that four tries may no longer be enough for a bonus point.
There will also be a number of games broadcast on free-to-air TV, while Clubber will once again show every Champ Rugby game via a subscription service.
Replicating the Top 14
Champ Rugby has announced a new bonus points system which will be introduced for the coming season, adopting the system used in the Top 14 in France and Super Rugby in the southern hemisphere.
In previous iterations, scoring four tries guaranteed a bonus point, while sides losing by seven points or less could gain another bonus point, meaning losing clubs on any given matchday could still secure two points.
While the losing bonus point remains, clubs will now only receive a try-scoring bonus point if they score three or more tries than their opposition.
This is to try and avoid scenarios in which a team can still gain a point despite being roundly beaten, such as London Scottish’s defeat to the Blues in February in which they scored four tries despite shipping 54 points.
Whether the new system will benefit or hinder the Blues remains to be seen, but one such club who may not like the change is Ampthill, whose final total of 71 was made up of 18 points for try bonuses.
Ampthill finished tenth, but the bonus point for Scottish at Goldington Road didn’t save them as they went on to lose the Champ Rugby access final, meaning they got relegated to National One.
Champ Rugby’s newest clubs
Replacing them as one of two new sides in Champ Rugby are the world’s oldest open membership club, Blackheath, who secured their well-deserved passage to the second tier with a 27-7 triumph over Scottish in May’s access final.
Joining them are National One champions, Rotherham Titans who are in the second tier of English rugby for the first time since 2018.
The Blues travel to Rotherham in matchday three, with the visit to Clifton Lane scheduled for Saturday, 3 October while a trip to Blackheath takes place in the first weekend of November.
Other early season games include the visit of last season’s surprise package in Chinnor, who reached the play-offs before succumbing to eventual winners, Worcester in the quarter-finals.
They will be the Blues’ first league opponents at Goldington Road on Saturday, 26 September.
Cornish Pirates visit Goldington Road on Saturday, 10 October with a different kick off time of 5pm, while the regular Friday night visit to Lady Bay to face Nottingham is six days later and rounds off the first chunk of five fixtures.
Different kick off times help TV coverage
While the majority of the Blues’ games this season will be in the traditional slot of 3pm on Saturdays, plus a smattering of the popular Friday night lights, there are some fixtures where fans will have to remain on their toes.
In addition to the aforementioned 5pm start against the Pirates, the Blues also face a midday kick off at local rivals, Ampthill on 21 November while there is currently one scheduled 4pm kick off on a Sunday.
The pre-Christmas clash against Caldy on Sunday, 20 December is earmarked for free-to-air coverage via BLAZE TV, who have already confirmed nine Sunday fixtures in the first section of their trial to show Champ Rugby.
The Caldy fixture is not yet part of the confirmed coverage, but the Blues are anticipating it to be added in weeks to come, throwing another spanner in the works of what would usually be strictly timed preparations.
There is also no fixture on Boxing Day at Goldington Road this year, with the Blues scheduled to face Richmond away from home, but they do welcome back the same opposition to Bedford on New Year’s Day.
With pre-season behind them, in which the Blues beat National One’s Cambridge and lost to Prem heavyweights, Bath, the Blues are looking ahead to another mammoth 26-game regular season with another eye on the play-offs.
Read: Bedford Blues smash Cambridge to retain Baker Brothers Cup at Goldington Road
Read: Bedford Blues lose final pre-season game against rampant Bath
Their squad looks largely similar, albeit with a handful of new names including former GB Sevens winger, Marcus Kershaw and Australian fly-half, Ben Dufficy, with the Blues once again among the names in contention come May.
Ealing will once again start as league favourites despite their shock play-off semi-final defeat last time out, while it would take a brave person to rule out Saturday’s opponents, Worcester.
Last season’s fourth semi-finalists, Coventry are always a danger, while there are a number of dark horses in what will be another competitive 14-team division.
The Blues’ opening Champ Rugby fixture against the Warriors kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, 19 September, while Nottingham officially kick off the new season against Blackheath on Friday night.
The Bedford Blues Supporters Club are continuing to provide away matchday travel, although tickets for Worcester have sold out.
You can find out more about the services they offer here.
