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REPORT | Blues scrape to nervy Derby Day win
Cambridge gave high-flying Bedford Blues an almighty scare at Goldington Road but were denied a first league victory of the campaign thanks to a second half comeback from the home side at Goldington Road.
The visitors were in dreamland with a 21-10 advantage at the break, but Blues had stacked the bench should they require it, and those replacements did the job to edge a Derby Day thriller.
Forwards Coach, Cameron Boon conceded: “Cambridge threw everything at us, and they dominated the breakdown and jackal game. They put a lot of pressure on us, and we didn’t help ourselves.
“We just didn’t have the urgency to deal with it, but we’ll make sure that’s fixed up for next week. The pleasing part was the same as last week; the boys showed a lot of character and kept going. But we can’t keep putting ourselves into positions such as this.
“We know we have to get ourselves into a much better place for two really tough games coming up, Pirates and Worcester. We have to start winning physical battles.”
Bedford wrung the changes before the game, eight in total, but all seemed according to the league positions when they raced into a 10-0 lead thanks to tries from Archie Benson and James Lennon.
But Cambridge were good value all day and turned it round for a strong half-time lead. Billy Walker dotted down on his 100th appearance for the Blood & Sand, Jack Doorey-Palmer also scored, and a penalty try saw Bedford lose Rory Ward for the start of the second half.
The home side weathered the storm and unleashed their bench to good effect. Over 400 Blues caps sat watching with intent, then brought on to change the game… and that they did.
Tui Uru reduced the deficit out wide, before they re-took the lead through Tommy Herman’s driving run. When Fred Tuilagi crossed after 78 minutes, you thought that might be all she wrote.
But Cambridge again had other ideas and got the two points their performance deserved. Bedford were a bit too exuberant in a late attack and were overturned on the floor, Edward Timpson eventually crossing.
Uru added: “Five points is crucial. Cambridge fought us from the first minute and credit to them, I hope in the coming weeks that some results come their way because we didn’t show up in that first half and they punished us.”
