Bedford Blues brought three points back from the Midlands on Friday night (28 November) as they managed to retrieve a 28-28 draw against Nottingham at Lady Bay in the eighth round of Champ Rugby.
Having dominated much of the ball and the territory in the first half, the two sides went into the changing rooms level pegging at 7-7, and despite Nottingham scoring three tries in 16 second half minutes, the Blues fought back admirably to claim a miraculous tie.
After league defeats against perennial heavyweights Ealing and Coventry in the opening two weekends, Bedford Blues had since gone on a run of five consecutive victories to propel themselves to third in the Champ Rugby table, with confidence high.
Nottingham’s form has yo-yoed between wins and losses as they began the night comfortably in fifth, but the Archers will feel like they have thrown away a big win, conceding two tries in the final seven minutes.
These two sides last met back in April at Goldington Road; an occasion where Dean Adamson scored five of 13 tries as the Blues annihalated a beleaguered Nottingham, pinning 87 points on them.
Read: Adamson scores five tries to equal record as Bedford Blues annihilate Nottingham
This time, it was a far closer affair.
Graham and James share tries
Friday night’s encounter was a far more even battle, although the scoreline wasn’t an honest reflection of a first half in which Bedford dominated possession.
For a game that ended in such dramatic fashion, it is scarcely believable that the first score came after thirty minutes, with both sides looking as if they may head into half-time at 0-0.
The Blues played large parts of the opening ten minutes with ball in hand, as George Worth was stopped a mere two metres from the Nottingham whitewash, and the penalty count mounting against the hosts.
Nottingham’s only sniff at the other end came courtesy of a kick and chase, as Levi Roper lost a sprint with Will Maisey, but while the Blues continued to enjoy possession, their end product left a lot to be desired.
And so it was that the hosts were the first to score on 30 minutes; the Blues’ momentary lapse in concentration after a knock on allowing Osian Thomas to feed Harry Graham to run home the simplest of tries.
Within three minutes, the Blues had responded thanks in large to Louis James, who collected a high kick on the halfway line, before dodging three tackles to make it up to the Nottingham 22.
A number of phases later, the ball was passed into the path of a marauding Rory Ward, who cut inside to dive in under the posts to restore parity at 7-7 at the break.
Yellow cards cost Bedford
The Blues remained favourites at half-time, but it was quickly torn apart due to a mix of Bedford indiscipline and Nottingham ingenuity.
Within five minutes of the whistle, the hosts were back ahead as Jimmy Dickinson was the beneficiary of a powerful Nottingham maul, and when Rory Ward was sin-binned after multiple penalties ten minutes later, the challenge for Bedford went up a notch.
When a third Nottingham try was bundled over, followed by a second sin-binning – this time for Louis James – the writing seemed as if it was well and truly on the wall with Nottingham 21-7 up and two men to the good.
Dan Richardson’s bonus point try on the hour mark seemed to seal Bedford fates, although Oisin Heffernan’s fifth try of the season gave the Blues a glimpse, even before their full compliment of players were back on the pitch.
James’ return signalled a full 15 to play with, and the Blues began to set Nottingham nerves jangling, beginning with Tommy Herman’s try that – with Maisey’s conversion – reduced the deficit to seven points.
The visitors continued to play with fire on the penalty count, but escaped further yellow-coloured punishment before escaping up the other end thanks to earning a penalty of their own.
A medical timeout and a scrum later, the Blues were in centre field and it allowed George Worth to run in under the posts to give Maisey the simplest of conversions and rescue two points on what was still a mightily frustrating night for the Blues.
It’s their first competitive draw since the entertaining 42-42 Championship Cup tie against Doncaster Knights in February 2023, and momentarily takes the Blues up to second ahead of the remaining second tier calendar on Saturday.
Bedford Blues return home heading into December, welcoming winless Cambridge to Goldington Road next Saturday (6 December), with Cornish Pirates and Worcester Warriors to come before the resumption of the traditional Boxing Day game against Richmond.
