BRISTOL LEFT SINGIN' THE BLUES

Two tries for the visitors against one for Bristol illustrated the difference between the two sides. Errors and a failure to capitalise on periods of dominance when close to the line saw Bristol come up short despite a brave second half fightback

Bedford kicked off the match in overcast conditions.  Bristol tried to carry out a pre-planned midfield move but it was poorly executed and the pass went forward.  The scrum failed to settle and it allowed Bedford to have a free kick.  They swept into the attack with great movement and pace and Bristol struggled to halt the move and were penalised for failing to release the tackled player.  Pritchard, as so often in previous meetings, stepped up and sent the ball over the posts for a 0 – 3 lead.  Bristol tried to get going but made little headway before George Watkins was released on a searing break following a clean Bristol lineout win.  He made terrific ground but, with little close support, he had few options when closed down and lost the ball forward.  Bedford countered but a series of fierce tackles stopped them building any momentum and they gave away a penalty. 

Nicky Little’s kick just made it to touch about 10 metres out and the initial drive from the pack was held by the defence.  David Blaney made a half break but lost the ball forward.  The Bedford clearance kick made little distance and excellent lineout work allowed Bristol right back on to the attack.  Watkins made a dash into space before the ball was whipped back right with Jack Adams taking the ball on.  Flipped out to the right wing, we were treated to the sight of Mako Vunipola in his favoured position, but furious defending saw him forced into touch.  Little showed his strength by taking on the defence and he was backed up well by captain Iain Grieve.  The move broke down when a difficult pass was knocked on by Sean Marsden. 

Bristol were looking confident and continued to press forward.  A powerful burst from Dan Montagu saw Bedford go offside and Little made light work of the tricky kick to equalise the score.  Another fine kick, this time from Watkins, moved play back into the visitors’ half but a steepling kick from Thrower sowed confusion in the Bristol ranks and a cruel bounce of the ball took it away from Watkins and into the appreciative arms of  Gillanders who romped over for a converted try that took Bedford to a 3 – 10 lead.  Bristol were undaunted by this harsh blow.  The award of a penalty saw Little poke the ball into touch.  The catch-and-drive went in.  Bedford held the first shove, but Bristol regrouped and drove over the line.  The referee was unsighted, so it was a five metre scrum.  It wheeled and collapsed.  Another Bristol scrum, then a Bristol free-kick and then a Bristol penalty.  And then another penalty.  Another scrum, surely a penalty try or yellow card?  No, Bristol tried to get the ball out wide but a clumsily knocked-on with the line seemingly at their mercy. 

Deflated by their failure to come away with points Bristol seemed to loose concentration and Bedford were incisive in their counterattack.  Good handling, and a slice of luck saw Short, Gillanders and Rae cut the Bristol defence to shreds.  A despairing tackle from Grieve brought Rae down just short of the line but he had the wit to pop the ball up to centre Bedford who went over for a second converted try and a Bedford lead of 3 – 17 at half time. 

I was surrounded in the second half by Bedford supporters who had swapped ends in anticipation of seeing more Bedford tries.  Initially this looked to be on the cards when Bedford got the scoreboard ticking over almost from the restart.  Montagu knocked-on a speculative Bedford kick and Bristol were penalised at the resulting scrum to let Pritchard send over another penalty for 3 – 20.  Bristol’s riposte was an ungainly move that saw Jack Adams put under pressure from an unsympathetic pass.  However, Bedford were penalised at the following lineout and and Little pushed Bristol into the Bedford half.  The lineout was a scrappy affair but Bedford went offside and Little narrowed the gap to 6 – 20. 

Bristol struggled to deal with the restart but were rescued by a Bedford knock-on.  An Alford chip appeared for an instant to have set Adams free but play was called back by the referee for a Bristol penalty.  Little’s kick to touch failed in its aim, but the Bedford response was not much better so Bristol still had reasonable field position.  Bristol tried to mount an attack with Montagu and Jack Tovey prominent.  Junior Fatialofa sprinted forward but lost the ball in contact.  Bedford returned the ball well into the Bristol half and it went to touch, but the Bedford hooker took so long to dry the ball that Bristol were awarded a free kick.  Bristol edged forward but slow ball prevented any head of steam being built.  A sudden injection of pace by James Merriman saw play swiftly into the visitors’ 22.  Tovey took play on down the right wing before the ball was swung left for Watkins to power on.  This time the support was up with him and the ball was scrambled to Marsden who just had the strength to cross the line.  If he hadn’t the men outside him with an overlap would have been far from gruntled.   Replacement Ed Barnes sent the conversion over and Bristol were back in it at 13 – 20. 

The now traditional ‘give away cheap points after all the hard work’ tactic now came into play and Pritchard promptly nudged his side further ahead a 13 – 23 with a first-rate kick.  Bristol were far from out of things, despite this setback and a fantastic break from Watkins took Bristol right back into the danger zone.  The pack pounded away as the sought to deliver the coup de grace but the defence held firm.  At the 5 metre scrum Bedford were penalised.  The next scrum broke in confusion and was reset.  Another penalty to Bristol.  Surprisingly the decision now was to go for the points, which Barnes duly delivered.  16 – 23 with time for more points. 

Worryingly it looked like these might be for Bedford as they were stung into a dangerous move that the Bristol defence was barely able to contain.  A penalty cleared the danger for the moment but Bedford quickly returned to the Bristol half with a long kick only for Watkins to once again show good pace and balance as he took the ball back to the visitors’.   Bedford, when they kept the ball in hand, looked purposeful and kept Bristol under pressure but soft penalties let the host side off the hook.  The Bedford fullback looked to have raced clear but a desperate tackle from Tovey hauled him down.  Bristol tried to rally but just could not claim possession as the Bedford pack kept things tight and ate up the remaining time.  Once again they were penalised and with seconds remaining Bristol kept ball in hand and attacked from their 5 metre line.  Adams and replacement Jamie Miller were to the fore but the Bedford defence managed to scuttle back into position and time was up.