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REPORT | French hat-trick seals Derby Day victory
A divine Sean French hat-trick ensured Bedford Blues secured the league double over Ampthill for the first time in history with a hard fought 33-27 victory at The Olney Field.
A topsy turvy contest, in which both sides led on three or more occasions, it required patience to edge the game as after French completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute, Blues had to defend through 23 phases before forcing the knock on.
Man of the moment, French said: “This fixture has been built up to me throughout the week and I don’t think it disappointed, Bedford Blues is a very special club. This means a lot to me, we made it hard for ourselves but managed to get more of a flow into our performance as we went through the game.”
In truth, Blues were terrible in the opening half hour and were pretty lucky to still be in a position to win the contest. Although they got 15 points in that spell of dominance, Ampthill will be kicking themselves that they didnt drive home the ascendency further and take the game out of sight.
Give Blues an inch, they'll take a yard. In that first half, they only looked good when sent down to 13 men after yellow cards to Robin Williams and Tui Uru, and a double from French reduced the arrears to 15-12 at the break.
If the first was decent, the second was unreal and if it doesn't win Try of the Season for the Championship then there's something seriously wrong... or another Blues try edges it.
Will Maisey audaciously played a quick tap inside the Blues 22m before setting Dean Adamson off. The perennial try scorer went most of the way himself, cutting inside and offloading to perfection...couple of passes later, French was in.
The second half was just as cagey and a real end-to-end affair as both sides seemed to respond to the other scoring points.
Blues struck first to lead for the first time after 43 minutes when Rich Lane cut a mazy run to score.
That lead last barely 60 seconds as back came Ampthill with a try of their own before another Try of the Season contender from George Hendy.
The Northampton Saints youngster was selling dummies faster than Mothercare and went through everyone from way back deep in the back field to dazzle the crowd and sot down under the posts.
Back came again again to set up a tense finale.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man as French completed the hat-trick after patient build up play in and around the try line to grind Ampthill down, identify the space, then execute.
Still Blues had to hold out through one final passage of play but they looked so assured in that defensive set through 23 phases to get the victory, send the travelling supporters home with a smile on their face, and do the double over the closest rivals.
*Matchday Photography by Hazel Hawkes Photography and Zach Levens - z-r-j.co.uk*
