Match Report
Bedford II 76-6 Norwich
The Tigers took on Norwich Saxons with a big squad to choose from on a hot sunny day, and made the perfect start from the kick off.
After an opposition knock on, the Tigers were ahead in the first minute due to a powering run from returning second row Stuart
Riding. Not long after it looked like the Saxons would score a breakaway try but a great recovering tackle back from centre Tac
Mudokwani smashed the winger into touch. The Tigers soon sent the ball over to the opposite wing for Winger Chris Bygraves to score
in the corner to make it 10-0 after six minutes.
For around the next ten minutes the Tigers settled down to
complete their sets of six and not let the Saxons into their half. The
pressure finally told when in the 16th minute after the Saxons had knocked on in their red zone Mudokwani went in for a try a few
yards in from touch on the second tackle, to make it 14-0. The Saxons then conceded a penalty for being in front of the kicker at
the kick off. From the tap the ball was quickly passed down the line to the left side for Bygraves to bag his second try of the
game in the corner after 19 minutes.
The Tigers scored further tries in the 23rd and 26th minutes by centre Jack Brown. First a powerful run straight from the scrum,
and then after the Saxons were penalised for a two man strip of the ball in the tackle. The next score came in the 31st minute,
again from the scrum, this time interchange Ollie Francis, for a half time score of 34-0.
Not long into the second half the Saxons again dropped the ball
short of the halfway line, and again on the first play from the
scrum centre Brown was able to complete his hat trick, going in under the sticks. The Tigers were not to score again until the
49th minute when Francis bagged his second try half between the sticks and the touch. From the Tigers next set of six, loose
forward Dan Baroux was to score between the posts to make it a point a minute at 50-0.
The Tigers were to then have a brief lapse in concentration in
the defensive line and a few missed tackles allowed the Saxons to
breach the try line for their only try of the match. The Tigers managed to regroup themselves quite quickly and were to enjoy a
purple patch of three tries in five minutes, by debutant winger Jordan Yeats, hooker Adam Jones-Hayes, then a storming run down
the right flank by Brown set up another try out wide to debutant Bob Stones.
Again for around another 10 minutes the game got scrappy again
with both sides dropping the ball and/or conceding penalties. To
their credit the Tigers managed to turn it back around with a try to another Stones – this time Dan – in the 73rd. A few minutes
later man of the match Francis completed the Tigers second hat-trick of the day when he again burst through the Saxons defence
to score the final try of the game to make the full time score 76-6.
Despite the heavy score line against the Saxons put up a creditable effort, with only the bare 13. The Tigers loaned them a few
players to allow them some interchanges. Big thanks must go out to Jamie Coates and Paul Baker who kindly agreed to play the
whole game for the Saxons and also to Parwaz Khan who joined them in the 2nd half.