BEDFORD BLUES          41

SEDGLEY PARK               7 

National League Division One  

WITH a quarter of the game gone and Bedford only 6-0 in front, there was not a lot to choose between the two sides.

The Blues showed their nervousness when Ben Patston elected to kick a drop-goal instead of swinging the ball out to the backs on seven minutes, followed by the first of referee Steve Lander’s strange decisions.

Sedgley wing Ian Voortman burst onto a pass and took either an elbow of shoulder in the face, with the Bedford player making no attempt to tackle him.

It resulted in the South African, one of Sedgley’s most prominent ball carriers, taking no further part in the game after receiving 15 stitches in a wound to his chin.

It was the first of many high, illegal or non-tackles-but-hits from both sides that went unpunished and no doubt contributed to the two bouts of fisticuffs that ensued in the last five minutes of the game.

On 12 minutes Phil Jones had an opportunity to draw level with a straightforward 30-metre penalty. With no wind it looked a surefire three points. However, the normally reliable kicker completely mis-hit the ball and wasted the chance.

The Sedgley forwards were competing on an equal footing and on one occasion the driving maul resulting from a lineout-take drove the Bedford pack back 20 metres.  

Bedford then doubled their lead on 19 minutes when Pritchard kicked a penalty, but they were by no means ruling the roost.

It was not until four minutes before the break that the tables began to turn. After having a try disallowed for a knock-on, the Blues turned their next opportunity into points.

Following a catch-and-drive from a 15-metre lineout, the ball was fed infield before being switched back out to the left, where winger Pritchard broke through ineffective tackling to cut to the corner before sweeping around to the posts to give himself the easiest of conversions.

Five minutes into time-added-on things got worse. Blues’ fullback Emyr Lewis carried the ball first one way then the other before it was slipped to prop Ben Alexander, and he shrugged off more powder-puff tackling to force his way over between the Sedgley posts. Pritchard added the two-pointer to make it 20-0 to the home side at the break.

Within minutes of the re-start the Tigers put together some dynamic approach play. After taking lineout call-ball successive pick-and-drives drove the Blues back over 20 metres again, only for a knock-on to bring the move to a grinding halt.

Within minutes Bedford rubbed salt into the Tigers’ wounds when flanker Sacha Harding waltzed through more non-existent Sedgley tackling to go over between the posts to make Prichard’s job even simpler and the Blues led 27-0.

Then Alex page, on for scrum-half Dom Malone, picked up from the base of a ruck following a catch-and-drive on the Sedgley 22 and scurried down the blindside catching Sedgley’s disorganised defence out again, with Pritchard adding the conversion on 55 minutes.

In their previous two games Bedford had let their lead slip after taking their foot off the gas and they were guilty of doing so again on 68 minutes.

Sedgley were awarded a penalty 30 metres out from the Bedford line, with the Blues marched back another 10 metres after one of their number said something to referee Lander.

Declining a kick at goal, Phil Jones kicked for touch and at the resulting 10-metre lineout Bedford were penalised once more.

Chris Leck, on for the injured Chris Wilkinson, was quick to react and his tap-pass to Jones gave the Tigers’ stand-off  the time and space to cut through the Bedford midfield and go over between the posts, his two pointer making it 34-7.

With five minutes to go Tigers’ loan-signing from Sale Sharks Mark Jones, on for hooker Jonny Roddam, took exception to his opposite number Chris Johnson and launched into him, showing an aggressive streak that had for the most part been lacking in his teammates. However misplaced that aggression may have been it at least showed his commitment to the Sedgley cause.

After consulting with his touch judge he spoke to both players and told them they were being yellow-carded. Unfortunately he had forgotten to pack his disciplinary cards in his shorts and had to ask the touch judge for his! Perhaps having missed these important items of a referee’s match-day kit the crowd should have been grateful he had remembered his whistle.

With both sides down to 14 men it was Bedford who had the last say, with Page once more gliding through a static Sedgley defence to claim the final touchdown and give Pritchard the chance to wrap up the scoring.

Three games, three defeats, no points and bottom of the heap is not the best of positions to be in. However, it is situations like this where a strong nerve, self-belief and encouragement are needed, not criticism and negativity. 

BEDFORD: Lewis, Moir (Hallett, 85), Allen, Dodge, Pritchard, Patston, Malone (Page, 53), Alexander, Johnson, Volland (Cooke, 36), Phillips (Comb, 68), Brenton, Strauss, Harding (Whitehead, 75), Brady (Pienaar, 68). Replacements: (not used) Kettle.

Tries: Pritchard, Alexander, Harding, Page (2). Conversions: Pritchard (5). Penalties: Pritchard. Drop goal: Patston. Yellow card: Johnson (75 – Foul Play) 

SEDGLEY: De Jager, Roko, Craig, Briers, Voortman (Naulivou, 9), Jones.P, Wilkinson (Leck, HT), Gazzola (Roberts, 50), Roddam (Jones.M, 62), Evans (Du Plessis, HT), Skurr, Norris, Newton (Jope, 50), Ponton, Swart (Bennett, 50).

Tries: Jones.P. Conversions: Jones.P. Yellow card: Jones.M (75 – Foul Play)