There was a moment in this match, just after the hour-mark, when Blackheath had dragged themselves from three scores adrift to within a single point of overhauling their visitors.
They did it with, arguably, the two best tries of the match, both scored by Tom Kendrick on his home debut.
Firstly, a well-worked scrum move saw Ed Dunford move up from full-back to send his wing across in the corner, before Sam Morley launched a cross-field kick which Kendrick caught on the bounce to score his second. With Dunford converting both, Blackheath had closed the gap to 28-27 with 17 minutes remaining.
Nevertheless, Bedford proved to be too well-conditioned, and too powerful, and as the Blues forced the penalties to gain ground, first Rory Ward, and then Fred Tuilagi drove across to claim a bonus point win.
‘We were right in the mix,’ said Tom Stradwick. ‘But we conceded 15 penalties which gave Bedford good field position.
‘They didn’t bust our line too often, but we exited poorly and didn’t get down the pitch as well as we should have done after scoring,’ continued the Club’s head coach.
‘We are getting close in games, but need to be more clinical and reduce the penalties.’
Bedford did press the gain-line early on with some forceful running and good continuity, and it culminated in their first try as loose-head Joey Conway crossed on seven minutes.
Dunford struck two penalties in response for Blackheath to leave them trailing by a point, and although Bedford continued to batter the Club’s defences, and tight-head Oisin Heffernan made one stunning break, a try-saving tackle from Jordan Burns and Raff Hollister combined, and ball held up, kept the visitors at bay.
However, as Bedford were offered another lineout opportunity, hooker Tommy Herman drove across, and although Blackheath responded with a penalty try for collapsing at the other end, a second try for Conway, after another close-range throw, saw the Blues leading 21-13 at the break.
The lead was extended soon after the re-start as replacement hooker James Fish drove over, fly-half Will Maisey adding the fourth of his five successful conversions, before Blackheath sparked their comeback, but Bedford’s power saw them triumphant.
‘Credit to our forwards,’ said Blues’ skipper and scrum-half Alex Day. ‘It may not have looked it, but it was very greasy and sometimes you can play a bit too much rugby with a wet ball and lose your way.’
‘We had to find a way to win and we did that, and everyone’s happy with five points.’
Next Saturday, Blackheath travel to Oxfordshire to face Chinnor. Kick off at Kingsy Road is at 3.00 pm.
Blackheath
Tries: Penalty 36, Kendrick 56, 63
Conv: Dunford 56, 63
Pens: Dunford 9, 15
Bedford
Tries: Conway 7, 40, Herman 32, Fish 49, Ward 69, Tuilagi 78
Conv: Maisey 7, 32, 40, 49, 69
Attendance: 928
| 15 | . | Iwan Price-Thomas |
| 14 | . | Tom Kendrick |
| 13 | . | Luke Pollock |
| 12 | . | Raff Hollister |
| 11 | . | Jake Hennessey |
| 10 | . | Ed Dunford |
| 9 | . | Jordan Burns |
| 1 | . | James Cornish |
| 2 | . | Ben Chapman |
| 3 | . | Archie Holland |
| 4 | . | Zak Farrance |
| 5 | Ed Scragg | |
| 6 | . | Archie Smeaton |
| 7 | . | Josh Smart (Capt) |
| 8 | . | Nick Cook |
| 16 | . | Billy Harding |
| 17 | . | Julian Scott-Davies |
| 18 | . | Andrew Boye |
| 19 | . | Ehize Ehizode |
| 20 | . | Noah Sloot |
| 21 | . | Mikel Davies |
| 22 | . | Sam Morley |
| 23 | . | Ronnie Du Randt |
Photos: Nick King
Graham Cox
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