BEDFORD BLUES 42
SEDGLEY TIGERS 20

EDF National Trophy Round 5

IF ever a team did not need help from a referee, it was Bedford in this game.

Facing a Tigers’ side already missing linchpin Phil Jones, out nursing a rib injury, and Number 8 Jon Skurr, away coaching the Ireland Sevens squad, even more bad news dogged them prior to kick-off.

Intending to start Chris Leck at scrum-half, that plan had to be changed after he aggravated a back injury in the pre-game warm-up. That necessitated Jamie Albinson, carrying an injury of his own, starting the game.

So when referee Llyr Apgeraint Roberts appeared intent on penalising the Tigers with indecent haste, resulting in two James Pritchard penalties in the opening 10 minutes (both approximately 18 metres from the Tigers posts) to give the Blues an early 6-0 lead, Tim Fourie and the boys could be forgiven for thinking they were not destined to win this game.

However, having been harsh on the Tigers he then awarded them a penalty on 11 minutes and Steve Nutt – replacing regular fly-half Jones – duly halved the Blues’ lead.

A third Pritchard penalty attempt hit a post but the home side regained possession and after pulling the Tigers’ defence first one way then the other, they finally got the ball out to Pritchard on his wing and he went over for the opening try of the game, although he was unable to convert it.

Although for the most part the Blues had the greater possession and territorial advantage the Tigers also had their chances, but knock-ons, along with the boot of Blues’ fullback Brendan Burke kept the Tigers at bay.

The Tigers managed to hold out until two minutes before half-time when following a turnover the Blues once more changed the point of attack and flanker Nic Strauss popped up on the left wing where the Blues had men to spare and charged over in the corner to score. Pritchard duly kicked the extras and the home side led 18-3 at the break.

They continued the scoring two minutes after the restart, when Strauss again led them towards the Tigers’ line where a succession of forward drives was rounded off by scrum-half Karl Dickson slipping over the Tigers’ line to the right of the posts to give Pritchard an easier shot at goals and the Blues increased their lead to 25-3.

With Albinson unable to continue the Tigers made changes, with wing/centre Any Craig replacing him but taking up station at fly-half, with Nutt assuming scrum-half duties.

With all this befalling them it would have been understandable if the Tigers had folded at this point, but if anything the enforced half-back changes seemed to act as a spark and they began to rebuild momentum.

With powerful thrusts from Luther Burrell in the three-quarters and the forwards picking and driving, they began to gain ground.

Awarded the penalty 15 metres from the Blues’ line they elected to scrum and the ball was fed left with Freeman Payne carrying well before offloading to Craig. He cut through the Blues’ defensive line and then off-loaded back to Payne, who in turn found skipper Jimmy Ponton who sneaked past would-be tacklers to cross in between the posts to make it 25-8 after Nutt’s attempted conversion hit a post.

The Blues extended their lead on the hour with another Pritchard penalty but then scrum-ball was turned into go-forward by first Du Plessis and then Nutt, whose slight-of-hand show-and-go completely fooled his marker and he sliced through the Blues’ defence before feeding Craig in close support and the former Scotland centre raced over by the posts to give Nutt a straight-forward kick at goal to make it 28-15.

Unfortunately another turnover returned possession to the home side and a finely weighted kick over the top Pritchard was rewarded by Mr Apgeraint Roberts, who decided Chris Briers deliberately knocked the ball out of play and yellow-carded him before awarding the Blues a penalty-try, which Pritchard turned into seven points to move the score on to 35-15.

Yet despite being down to 14 men for the remainder of the game the Tigers continued to press forward and good forward play was rewarded when the speed of the attack created an overlap out on the left and Nutt found replacement prop Danny Birchall unmarked and the youngster drove over in the corner for his first try in a Tigers’ shirt to move the score on to 35-20.

But the Blues had the final say when Adam Newton’s attempted touch-finder was claimed by winger Alex Page, who then sent Pritchard on his way to bag his second touchdown, which he then converted.

So, out of the season’s knock-out tournament but not without a fight, and if the same effort, commitment to attack and positivity can be retained, enough points should be acquired in the league to banish any fears of relegation.

To help them achieve that goal London Welsh, four places above and five points ahead of the Tigers in the NL1 table lost one of their two games in hand, going down 18-10 at Nottingham.

BEDFORD BLUES: Burke (Hinkins 79), Page, Roberts (Moir 63), Allen, Pritchard, Patston (Elrick 63), Dickson, Graham, Richmond, Fortuna (Lyon 51), Phillips (Brenton 59), Botha, Strauss, McKay (Harding 59), Pienaar (Sammons 73).
Tries: Pritchard 2, Strauss, Dickson and Penalty.
Conversions: Pritchard 4.
Penalties: Pritchard 3.

SEDGLEY TIGERS: Riley (Van DeVenter 59), Hall, Payne Burrell, Briers, Nutt, J. Albinson (Craig 44), Gazzola (A. Livesey 27), Roddam (Keys 44), Du Plessis (Birchall 75), Norris (Townson 63), Crous, Newton, Ponton, Fourie.
Replacement not used: Leck.
Tries: Ponton, Craig and Birchall.
Conversions: Nutt 1.
Penalties: Nutt 1.