Bedians kick off the season in style

In the opening game of the season Old Bedians made the long journey to Clitheroe where the sides met in the first round of the Lancashire Bowl, a repeat of the final game of last year’s league campaign where Bedians prevailed 15-7.

Old Bedians decided to kick off the first half playing into the strong cross wind. After weathering some initial pressure from the home team, Bedians regained possession due to a Clitheroe handling error. A secure scrum provided the platform for the backs to attack and strong running from Vince Betty put the visitors deep into the Clitheroe half. Good support and multiple phases from the pack saw Bedians open the scoring with Jack O’Shea crashing over from close range and scrum half Ben Rogerson unlucky to hit the post with the conversion from out wide.

The next period of play saw Clitheroe use the wind to their advantage by pinning Bedians back in their own 22. The back three dealt well with the pressure and managed to release full back Lawrence Smith who broke into the opposition half but after Bedes failed to secure the ruck ball Clitheroe went on the attack. Some good link play between backs and forwards resulted in Bedians giving away a penalty in front of the posts which the home team kicked to bring the score to 3-5.

After the restart Clitheroe applied more pressure and a number of phases saw the Bedians defence get sucked in and an excellent cross field kick allowed their winger to gather and score a converted try which brought the score to 10-5.

The remainder of the first half saw some excellent scrummaging from the Bedians pack both on their own ball and against the head. After Clitheroe gave away a penalty just outside their twenty two, a quick tap from Ben Rogerson allowed him to break free and skip round the Clitheroe full back to score under the posts. Ben converted his own try and kicked a further penalty just before half time to take the score to 10-15.

After a constructive half time talk Bedes decided to try and exploit the space out wide. After gathering the kick off, some powerful ball carrying from the tight five and a secure clean out from the excellent Chris Hetherington gave Bedians some much needed quick ball. Fast hands from the centres allowed Lawrence Smith to break the Clitheroe line and step around the covering defender to score a superb first try on his competitive debut.

Bedians then enjoyed an excellent spell with great work from the back row of Eley, Hetherington and Byers clearing rucks and providing the platform for the backline to make a number of breaks into the Clitheroe half. One such move saw winger Ryan Keyes make a dash for the line and after being stopped just short and initially turned over by some great Clitheroe scramble defence, the ball went loose into the in-goal area with the ever present Joe Eley pouncing on it to make the score 10-25. Rogerson narrowly missed the resulting conversion on a difficult day for kickers in the windy conditions.

Bedians continued to apply pressure and after being awarded a penalty Ben Rogerson kicked for touch giving Bedians a line out inside the Clitheroe half. A secure take saw Bedes execute a perfect set piece move with fly half Mike Gallagher fixing both Clitheroe centres before a pin-point pass to put Lawrence Smith though unopposed under the posts for his second try and a well-deserved man of the match award in his first game for Old Bedians. Rogerson slotted the conversion bringing the score to 10-32.

With a Bedian win secure Clitheroe never gave up and after some quick tap penalties they had the visitors on the back foot. Bedians defence was, however, up to the challenge and after the Clitheroe number 8 was binned for punching in a maul, the men in blue relieved the pressure and gained good field position by kicking to touch from the resulting penalty. On a very challenging day for the lineout throwers, Bedians couldn’t capitalise on their own throw and the remainder of the half played out with Bedians showing solid defence against a determined home team who kept going right to the final whistle.

Special mention must go to the Bedians front row of Jack O’Shea, Steve Bannell and Peter Wall who were rock solid in the scrum and also debutants Lawrence Smith and Adam Byers who both gave excellent performances in their first games for the club.

Next up Old Bedians will host Carnforth in the first game of the league where they will be donning their one-off pink jerseys to raise money for cancer research at the Christie Hospital. Please be sure to visit the just giving page below and make an every effort to come down to the club for what should be a thoroughly enjoyable day raising money for an excellent charity.

www.justgiving.com/OldBediansCharityGame/

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Old Bedians RUFC, Millgate Lane, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 5QX
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