Bedford Athletic Rugby Club

Whilst they may have shown tenacity and endeavour throughout they lacked the basic skills, tactical awareness and physicality necessary to impose themselves on their hosts.

A searing crossfield wind dominated the afternoon, favouring neither side, instead it became a match of who made the less mistakes. Early Bedford Athletic pressure resulted in a dropped ball and a quick counter attack from Peterborough. Although this resulted in a penalty to the visitors a quick tap in his defensive third from Tom Orton saw the ball knocked on and Peterborough took advantage of the turnover to sweep through the visitor’s defence for Duncan Low to touch down under the posts on 5 minutes. Will Carrington converted for a 7-0 lead. Bedford Athletic then spent a long period camped in the hosts 22. Driving rain and a howling wind did not help their cause rendering several penalties unkickable and in opting for scrums instead Athletic did not have the necessary dominance to force the issue. Several runs from the backline also broke down and eventually Peterborough cleared their lines. The hosts did have a penalty chance toward the end of the half but the kick sailed wide and they led 7-0 at half time.

The start of the second half remained scrappy and error strewn with Peterborough generally on top. Bedford Athletic could not string any phases together to work their way back into the game and on 57 minutes Carrington kicked a further penalty for a 10-0 lead. On the hour mark the visitors eventually gained a foothold in the Peterborough 22 and a driving line out saw Stuart Polson held up over the line. The resulting scrum was lost and once again Peterborough cleared the pressure. Too many mistakes hampered the visitors progress and when with eight minutes to go another move broke down in midfield Peterborough swept on the chance to send wing Reece Harry over in the corner for an unconverted try. Finally Bedford Athletic began to play with some poise and purpose and a swift attack down the left wing led by Danny Breeze eventually saw Tom Orton held up over the line. From the next scrum he did manage to wriggle over for the try and James Mortimer converted to narrow the gap to 15-7 with three minutes left. Athletic ended the game on the attack but lacked the precision necessary to force a second try for a losing bonus point.

The ultimate challenge awaits Bedford Athletic next week as they host league leaders Derby at Putnoe Woods with a 2.15 kick off.