Bring On Bristol
21 points
By Blues Ed
December 15 2014
We may be out of the B&I cup but the superbly entertaining encounter with Pirates has set us up for a jolly Christmas with the prospect of table toppers Bristol at Goldington Road on Boxing Day ...
The 41-40 win exorcised the memory of the 60 point drubbing by Pirates on their own patch.
Pritch scored 21 points as both sides gave it their all - sadly to no avail. Victories for Munster and Pontypridd meant we failed to claim one of the three best runner-up spots.
It was a pity there weren't many more than 2,000 in the ground to watch the lead change hands no less than eight times. They saw two tries from Paul Tupai, and others from Pritchard, Tapley and Adamson.
The latter finished off one of the best moves of the season. Turnover ball on our 22 gave Jake Sharp the opportunity to chip over the pressing defence. He collected and sent Le Booj away on an inside line which drew the cover. The final pass left the way clear for Adamson to race away and go in next to the post. Breathtaking stuff.
Bedford: Tom Williams (Camilo Parilli-Ocampo 65), TJ Harris (Charlie Clare 45), James Currie (Phil Boulton 45), Harry Wells, Ben Gulliver (Mike Howard 65), Justin Blanchet, Josh Buggea (Hayden Thompson-Stringer 50), Paul Tupai; Darryl Veenendaal, Jake Sharp, Dean Adamson, Viliami Hakalo (Henry Staff 65), Michael Le Bourgeois, Pat Tapley, James Pritchard (c).
Rep not used: P.r White.
Tries : Paul Tupai (2), James Pritchard, Dean Adamson, Pat Tapley.
Cons: Pritchard (5)
Pens: Pritchard (2)
Pirates: Jack Andrew (Jamal Ford-Robinson 55), Tom Channon (Dean Brooker 75), Alan Paver (Francisco Deformes 65), Will Carrick-Smith (Joel Conlon 70), Darren Barry, Chris Morgan (c), Joe Atkinson, Matt Bolwell (Laurie McGlone 45); Tom Kessell, Kieran Hallett, Max Bodily, Alex Dancer (Rheon James 75), Tom Riley, Kieran Goss, Laurence May.
Rep not used: G. Cattle.
Tries: Tom Riley (3) Max Bodilly.
Cons: Kieran Hallett (4)
Pens: Kieran Hallett (4)
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I don't know what the maximum capacity is at GR (Wikipedia says 6500) if that correct it's going to be packed!
I gave up guessing attendances at GR years ago but as it's Xmas let's say 4800+
Ok........tickets, hip flask full and packed.......no Cricketers this year so where we meeting before the game?
) and a win hopefully.
Quote:compo simonite
The question is were we better than expected or were they poorer than expected.......the Bristol fans in front of us who remained almost silent during the game informed us as they left.....'we only sent our second team......'
Have a look at a few of the team selection comments here [www.rugbynetwork.net]
I don't know who or how these 'maximums' are set, but there were still seats available in the stand, though I don't know how cramped it was for those who stood in the rain and sleet......
We outplayed them for half of the game at least, not bad for a part time team.
Thanks Magoo, I now remember, it was the Saints (not us) who erected a temporary stand for their supporters on the north side of the pitch slightly adjacent to where the Fish and Chip bar now stands.
I never quiet understood why it paid them to undertake this exercise for one match when it is not possible for us to do it for matches like yesterday's.