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Rich Lane joins Bristol Bears on permanent deal
Bedford Blues can today announce that captain Rich Lane has signed a permanent deal with Premiership side Bristol Bears following a successful recent loan spell at Ashton Gate.
Making five appearances during his initial temporary stint, including making his Premiership and Champions Cup debut, Lane has showcased his talents among a talented group littered with internationals.
Lane follows in the footsteps of a long line of Blues players to make the move into the Premiership, and while we are obviously disappointed to lose our captain, the club would never stand in the way of a fantastic opportunity and wish Lane every success next season upon his return from injury.
During his five seasons at Goldington Road, the Bedford born, former Junior Blue made 97 appearances, scoring 31 tries, while terrorising many Championship defences and creating some great memories along the way.
The departing Lane said: “I’ve absolutely loved my time at Bedford, this is the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in rugby in leaving Goldington Road. I had almost closed that chapter of moving back to the Premiership, but the opportunity came up at Bristol and I don’t want to have any regrets.
“I’ve got too many memories to mention, but particularly the Jersey game on Boxing Day this season, that was amazing and a huge win in-front of the massive crowd. My first game was important, completing the loop coming back to my boyhood club and then being asked to be captain – I’ve loved leading the boys out.
“I really want to say thank you to the #BluesFamily, they’re the best fans in the league and they’ve been unbelievable with me since my first day at the club. Some of the messages I’ve had since joining Bristol on loan have been amazing. Keep supporting the lads because it means the world to them.
“I’ll be back watching games when I can, my family are still near Bedford and I’ve got a lot of mates here, so I’ll be down here a lot.”
Bedford Blues Director of Rugby, Mike Rayer added: ““I’m over the moon for Rich, he thoroughly deserves this opportunity to once again test himself in the Premiership.
“He has been fantastic since he joined us here at Goldington Road; more recently growing into that leadership role particularly throughout COVID, and has been a great role model to the rest of the group.
“This is a great story that if you keep persevering and showing your talents at Championship level, there’s always people watching you and through hard work and dedication, you can get where you want to go.”
