BEDFORD BLUES 21 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 45
It’s often said the result doesn’t matter in pre-season friendlies and certainly no-one at Bedford Blues will be fretting after their opening run-out against Northampton Saints.
In the end the Premiership outfit needed every bit of their extra fitness and greater strength in depth to overcome a spirited Blues side, who led at half-time thanks to Mark Atkinson’s hat-trick.
The match proved right the old cliche of there being no such thing as a friendly in rugby, with the match being played with ferocity throughout – just ask Mike Le Bourgeois.
But with both sides willing to play fast, attacking rugby, it proved to be quite a spectacle and if this was a taste of things to come, then get ready for another thrilling season at Goldington Road.
It took just a couple of minutes for Northampton to open the scoring when Ben Nutley forced his way over after a drive from an attacking line-out was stopped just short.
James Wilson missed the extras but the Blues hit back in style when, after a good spell of pressure, Atkinson scored in the left-hand corner with Jake Sharp’s conversion putting them ahead.
But almost straight away the Saints showed their Premiership quality as Luther Burrell found Nutley, who timed his pass to allow Bedford-born Jamie Elliott an easy run-in.
The Blues then had to withstand more Northampton pressure, although the visitors should have had another try when hooker Ross McMillan threw the ball behind Elliott when the winger was free.
But they couldn’t hold out forever against some lightning-quick play from the Saints as GJ van Velze burst through from the back of a ruck with Wilson’s conversion taking the score to 19-7.
Two stunning scores in four minutes then turned the match on its head as Atkinson left Wilson for dead after being picked out by Sharp for his second try.
And he completed a magnificent treble right on half-time as he pounced on his own grubber ahead with Sharp’s conversion putting the Blues 21-19 ahead at the break.
After this, perhaps it wasn’t a great surprise to see Northampton fly out of the traps in the second half with England international Ben Foden going over after George Pisi sliced through Bedford’s defences.
The Goldington Road crowd then collectively winced as Le Bourgeois was nailed by a bone-juddering hit by Courtney Lawes near the half-way line.
However, to his credit, the summer signing from Jersey was soon back on his feet after a collision that could have finished the replacement’s game prematurely.
The Saints are well-renowned as strong scrummagers and hammered the point home as Gareth Denman touched down following a set piece to extend their lead to 12 points after Wilson’s conversion.
They went further clear as a flowing move down the left wing ended with Tom Stephenson sending Tom Collins racing away from Corey Hircock to score Northampton’s sixth try.
Not surprisingly, the amount of replacements in the game slowed down its momentum, as is often the case in pre-season friendlies with both teams having to adjust to new faces.
But there was a seventh score for the visitors as yet another powerful scrum led to a penalty try being awarded by referee Dean Richards.
Blues have one more warm-up before the Championship season, at Saracens on August 31.
Rugby Union: Bedford Blues 21 Northampton Saints 45 - Premiership visitors ...
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