Archers aiming for third win in a row
NOTTINGHAM are aiming for their third consecutive win in the Championship when Bedford Blues visit The Bay tonight (7.45pm).
With only five games left to play, four of them at home, Craig Hammond’s men have a chance to climb the table over the coming weeks.
Currently sitting in seventh place, a win tonight would give them plenty of confidence for their final few outings, and could even put them only four points behind today’s opponents, who are fourth.
Nottingham’s usual scrum-half Michael Strong will be starting at 10 tonight due to a string of injuries to the Archers’ recognised fly-halves. Josh Goodwin will be at scrum-half in his first start of the season.
Scott Hall will be making his 50th appearance for Nottingham tonight. The versatile second row has been one of Nottingham’s most important players since becoming a regular in the starting line-up in 2021 and will hope to make a big impact again tonight at number eight.
Bedford started the season in great form, winning five of their first six games. While they have stumbled recently, they still remain one of the most formidable teams in the division, with the third-best attacking record.
A big part of that impressive scoring record is Sean French. The Irishman has continued the fine form of his debut season and has so far clocked up 12 tries in the league this season, enough to make him the second highest scoring player in the Championship, only one behind Matthew Cornish of Ealing Trailfinders.
Dean Adamson is another Bedford player who has seen his name on the scoresheet a lot this season. The winger has nine tries to his name and has been putting up points for the Blues since he arrived at Goldington Road in 2016.
And he seems to love playing against Nottingham, too, having scored 10 times against the Green and Whites over the years, including memorable hat-tricks in 2021 and 2022.
It has the makings of another classic in the Nottingham-bedford rivalry.