Tyro Saints help Blues withstand late rally

BEDFORD were comfortable with 15 minutes to go in this open affair until a late Hartpury rally raised home blood pressure.

However Joshua Bragman’s missed last-minute penalty saw Hartputy leave empty-handed.

Bedford were good value for the win. A young and hastily assembled squad – with the collaboration of neighbours Northampton – occasionally clicked nicely into gear although, at times, they were helped by some ineffective Hartpury defending.

Bedford’s man-of-thematch, fly-half Will Maisey, hailed the new arrivals.

“We haven’t had too long with the Northampton lads, but when we have come together we’ve been really sharp,” he said.

“Their approach to the game matches ours, so it’s great to have them around.”

There was an early exchange of penalties before Bedford engineered the first try of the night.

After an initial dart from James Lennon, fullback Rich Lane burst between two hesitant Hartpury tacklers to take play deep into the 22. Following some patient phaseplay, it was Lane who popped up as the extra man to score.

Bragman and Maisey exchanged kicks before Bedford made a mess of the restart to allow Ben Foley to stroll in for his fourth try of the new season.

Hartpury could not make better use of the elements and the slope before the break, and it was the Blues who snatched back the lead. Bedford scrambled to win their own lineout and flanker Joe Atkinson set off for the line, beating a Hartpury defender on the way. Maisey made it 20-13, and added another three soon after the break.

A lost Hartpury lineout provided the springboard for the next Bedford score in the 47th minute when, after Lennon had again made good ground, experienced hooker James Fish was on hand to barrel over.

At 30-13, Bedford were looking out of sight and applying further pressure, before the visitors finally sprang into life.

Lineout drives rewarded their renewed enterprise, with Nick Selway and Aled Ward both adding to the points tally and moving them within five. But a final Will Maisey penalty wrapped up the win.

With a the final kick, Bragman might still have rescued a bonus point after Bedford were judged not to have rolled away, but his shot drifted wide.

Hartpury coach Mark Cornwell said: “The boys just went completely off script and we didn’t really start to play until the 70th minute. Credit to Bedford, who fixed a lot of their mistakes from last week and did a job on us.”