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Blues Rewind | Bedford v Coventry (2019)
An absolute Championship classic, Bedford Blues edged out Coventry 53-52 in an absolute humdinger at Goldington Road back in January 2019.
Last month we took a walk down memory lane by looking at three notable anniversaries in Blues’ illustrious history; now we’re carrying on our look into some of the most important Bedford matches of recent times by bringing you a full replay of the Coventry game.
Again this fixture will be streamed on Facebook Live from 3pm this Saturday, however we’re doing things slightly differently this week as the match commentary will be brought to you by Sam Roberts and former members of the #BluesFamily, Justin Blanchet and Jake Sharp.
One of the greatest back-and-forth contests the second tier has ever seen, the game itself was played on Saturday 26th January 2019 with Bedford in imperious form having won six of the previous seven matches; including the nail-biting victory at Cornish Pirates back in October 2018.
Blues would go on to finish the campaign in third position, behind only champions London Irish and Ealing Trailfinders, while visitors Coventry ended in 8th position after a hit and miss season where they never really strung a succession of victories together at any point.
The contest at Goldington Road was the perfect example of what everyone enjoys about the Championship; free-flowing, expansive, attacking rugby as both sides were happy to run from deep and put on a spectacle for the 2,787 paying spectators.
A total of 63 points were scored in the first half as it pretty much felt like both sides scored with every opportunity they created, Coventry were the side to get their noses in-front first as hooker Scott Tolmie steered the lineout drive over the whitewash for 7-0 with the conversion.
Back came Bedford on nine minutes with another Goldington Road classic. Sharp’s long pass out wide set the move in motion, before Lewis Robling and Ryan Hutler traded passes to then release James Lennon to sprint to the line. Tied game.
Coventry built themselves healthy advantages on two occasions in the first half and they swiftly surged into a 21-7 lead by the time 13 minutes had elapsed; first centre Robbie Knox went clear after a neat inside pass from scrum-half Pete White, then a fine sweeping move across the field put lock Tom Jubb in the clear.
Robling and Hutler again combined to halve the deficit at the end of the first quarter, this time the Welshman made some space before an inside ball allowed compatriot Huw Worthington to dot down.
Either side of a missed penalty attempt, Coventry again kept the scoreboard ticking over; they had the try bonus point wrapped up on 23 minutes when Knox scored his second, before full-back David Halaifonua’s converted score made it 35-14 after half hour.
Bedford weren’t about to give up, however, and they worked hard to fightback and ensure just a seven point deficit at the interval. The points continued to flow as Sharp’s clever kick through allowed Hutler to score then patient build up saw Mark Flanagan dot down.
Into the second half and Bedford continued where they’d left off as they went quickly at the lineout, going through the phases and through to hands to eventually see number eight Jarad Williams barrel his way over. Sharp converted for a tied game at 35-35.
Remarkably, it took Blues until the 50th minute to lead for the first time in the contest as Sharp held his nerve to kick a penalty awarded for offside.
Then came the game’s best try as Bedford extended the lead into double figures. Tom Kessell’s box kick didn’t have the distance making it easy pickings for Rich Lane, who proceeded to run the ball back to where it came from, skipping five challenges to go under the posts and leave a simple conversion.
The lead changed hands on five different occasions in a frantic second half played to the highest quality; this time it was Coventry’s turn to mount a comeback as they went back in-front at 47-45 when loosehead prop James Gibbons and flanker Ben Nutley went over.
This was blink and you’d miss it kind of rugby at Goldington Road and Blues retook the lead with five to play when Sharp again looked like calmness personified to slot a penalty on the angle.
Those hoping for a relaxed ending to the game were left somewhat mistaken as again the pendulum swung the other way, Coventry now thought they’d done enough to take all five points as Nutley got another following Ben Adams’ rampage through the middle.
Replacement fly-half Will Maisey’s missed conversion (52-48) meant it was only a try Bedford needed with 2:15 left on the clock. Other sides would have crumbled and been mentally shattered but not Blues. Not at Goldington Road.
A series of kicks to the corner after infringements from the visitors on lineout drives put Coventry under massive pressure and Bedford finally made it count when Jake Sharp made a sprint for the line, he was tackled just short but had the presence of mind to offload for Hutler to bring the curtain down on an absolute classic.
Coventry took two points back with them for their troubles and became the highest scoring losers ever in a Championship fixture; meanwhile Bedford celebrated a good afternoon’s work in a game that Goldington Road will never forget.
Don't forget to join us on Facebook Live this Saturday at 3pm to re-watch the game!
And don't forget you can now download an online version of the matchday programme from the game for FREE! We've teamed up with MatchDayInfo to provide the programme; available through the MatchDayInfo app on Android here; or Apple here.
