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REPORT | History made in Penzance
Bedford Blues made it back-to-back away victories at Cornish Pirates for the first time in club history thanks to a resolute and gritty 20-18 victory at The Mennaye.
It wasn’t quite the free flowing, joue attacking hallmarks that underpinned the 41-21 victory 12 months ago, but sometimes you have to play the conditions and Blues navigated choppy waters to secure the four points.
Mike Rayer’s side have played better in Penzance and lost. You’d rather be in today’s position than some of those heartbreaking defeats. Finding a different way to win will stand the squad in good stead for other instances where they might need a Plan B.
A total of 27 scrums paints a picture of how the game struggled to develop for large periods, with countless handling errors from both sides a consequence of sodden conditions and a sweeping breeze.
In their moments of note, Blues were able to showcase their traditional approach, but such was the defensive resilience showcased by Pirates, those were few and far between.
Ultimately, the scoreline reflected in Bedford’s favour and they probably deserved it. There’s not many sides that can control the ascendency and possession at The Mennaye as well as Bedford did – if anything, that’s the most annoying thing that the side couldn’t turn that into more points.
Blues were 7-3 to the good at half-time thanks to a captain’s contribution from Alex Day. It came from a Pirates put in at the scrum as Bedford got them moving back on skates, the ball popped out and the skipper was there to apply the downwards pressure.
A neat couple of penalties from Will Maisey extended that lead ever further and Blues could have had the game wrapped up on the hour, but Dean Adamson was adjudged to have been in touch when stretching for the line.
Instead, back came Pirates who levelled proceedings thanks to an Alex Schwarz try and points from the boot of Iwan Jenkins.
The game needed a hero, and it came in the form of Matt Worley who lit up the game with some individual brilliance. The full back took a high ball before skipping three challenges, kicking through twice and setting it on a plate for Sean French to score his sixth of the season.
It wasn’t done from there though and back came Pirates with time in the red to score their second. Fortunately, it was right in the corner and Jenkins hooked his conversion wide to give Blues a first victory of the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
