Bedians Battle to Narrow Newton Win

Following a disappointing start to 2013, with two defeats and a couple of postponements, Bedians were keen to get their season back on track with the first of a back to back double header against Newton le Willows

Opting to play the first half with the wind on their side, Bedians came out firing from the first minute with the forwards applying great pressure to put themselves on the front foot. After some good work at the breakdown, scrum-half Ben Rogerson broke down the blind side, and some good support and soft hands released Ritchie Swales to score the opening try of the game.

With their tails up, Bedians came straight back down the pitch from the kick off, thanks to a combination of astute kicking from fly-half Mike Gallagher and great work in the lineout from Pat Willis. As the forwards created another great platform, lovely hands across the back line fed full-back Ryan Keyes to round the winger before crossing for the second try, again easily converted by scrum half Ben Rogerson.

Bedians continued in the ascendency and Keyes was unlucky not to add a second after a charged down kick before Pat Willis barged over for a third Bedians try from close range, though an injury to a Newton forward subsequently led to an extended break. However, the halt in play seemed to prompt Bedians to take their foot off the gas and once play restarted Newton were gifted a route back into the match, taking advantage of a poor chip which fell straight into the hands of the Newton winger who showed good pace to run in their first try of the game from inside his own half.

The poor end to the half was the fillip that Bedians required, and the second half began with the forwards forcing a penalty which Rogerson kicked over to extend the lead to 22-7, and it wasn’t long before ‘Dopey’ Jim Blair ran over to score his first try for the 1st XV from just a ‘yard’ out. However, with the lead now 29-7 and a bonus point in the bag, Bedians once again fell asleep, and 2 quick tries from Newton suddenly put the result back in the balance.

With only a couple of minutes remaining, some clever play from Newton earned them another try to bring the difference to 5 points. Bedians began to finally show some resolve, and the forwards kept Newton pinned back in their own 22 to see the game to the final whistle.

On reflection Bedians will be happy to have come away with a victory, although they know they performed far from their best. With a number of injuries and other absences, credit must go to a number of players who stepped up to the squad and made a positive impact.

Credit to Newton too, who never gave up and were rewarded with two bonus points that could have easily been more. We look forward to visiting them in the return fixture next weekend.

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