Cambridge came away from Goldington Road with two-well deserved bonus points after giving Bedford Blues a fright in a game they could well have won. With a simplified game plan, relying on everyone playing their part to the max, Craig Newby’s side weathered an early storm and, indeed, shaded the first 10 minutes before former loanee Archie Benson finally forced his way over for Blues’ opener 11 minutes in. James Lennon added a second 15 minutes later. But there was never the feel of previous encounters with Bedford that the floodgates might open at any time.
Indeed, it was Blues that went reeling into the sheds after a three-try salvo from Cambridge. Billy Walker celebrated his 100th cap in style, picking up and driving over for the first try of the afternoon against the hosts. Jack Doorey-Palmer made it two 5 minutes later. Jamie Annand added both conversions and referee Jonathan Cook spotted some illegal activity in Bedford’s attempts to defend another drive to whistle and run under the sticks for a penalty try.
Blues rang the changes off the bench at the start of the second forty with the appearance of Sonny Tonga’uiha – closely followed by Jamie Jack, Will Maisey and Alex Day as they attempted to wrestle back the initiative, which turned out to be a fine plan as the hosts turned the screw and ground out three more scores. Tui Uru got the ball rolling – Tommy Herman brought up the TBP and with 2 minutes left on the clock, Fred Tuilagi looked to have completed the comeback and sealed the win.
The last play of the game, though, saw Cambridge debutant Ed Timpson smash over for Annand to add the extras and make it a one-point game, which was the least Cambridge deserved on a day which could have delivered just a little more. But in performance terms, it was easily Cambridge’s best all-round showing of the season so far and, probably, their best ever Champ Rugby ‘eighty’.
Skipper – and former Blue – Ben Adams was thrilled and ‘gutted’ in equal measure, saying “We stuck to our plan, there was a lot of heart, and not many teams in the league will get two points here at Goldington Road. We made a few errors – but the fight, the heart in the squad, these young players was magnificent. The was a high percentage of ball in play, which meant there was no time to think and we managed the game well, and forced Bedford into errors. It was win in all but name for us today, and now we’ve raised the bar we’ve got to keep it high going into the next match. It’s those things that can’t be coached, alongside a simple plan, that were good today, and it’s in this squad. They’re young, they’re hungry, and getting more experienced every week. The win’s coming.”
Teams
Bedford Blues
Worth, Hill, Le Bourgeois (C), Pasco, Adamson, Price, Lennon; Cowell, Fish, Royston, Evans, Ward, Benson, Finch, Uru
Replacements – Herman, Jack, Tonga’uiha, Woolford, Tuilagi, Day, Maisey, Hutler
Cambridge
Currie, Quaniuci, Rewetti, Sorrell, Thorne, Annand, Dawson; Boal, Doorey-Palmer, Walker, McCay, Baxter, Fulford, Eckersley, Adams (C)
Reinforcements – Irvine, Ellwood, Wulf-Masoe, Thomas, Timpson, McGhie, Green, Rokodrava
Scorers
Bedford Blues
Tries – Benson 11, Lennon 25, Uru 52, Herman 70, Tuilagi 78
Conversions – Maisey 53,71
Cambridge
Tries – Walker 30, Doorey-Palmer 35, Penalty 38, Timpson 80
Conversions – Annand 31,36, 80
HT 10-21 FT 29-28
Penalties Conceded 12/12
Line Outs Won 9/6
Line outs Lost 1/1
Scrums Won 7/6
Scrums Lost 1/1
Sin Bin 1/1
Referee – Jonathan Cook
Attendance 2,595