Bedford Blues

Bedford Blues

Full name	Bedford Blues
Union	East Midlands RFU
Founded	1886; 135 years ago (1886)
Location	Bedford, England
Ground(s)	Goldington Road (Capacity: 5,000 (1,700 seated))
Coach(es)	Mike Rayer
Captain(s)	Richard Lane
League(s)	RFU Championship
2020–21	8th
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.bedfordrugby.co.uk

Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the largest towns in England without a league football club, and one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro team, with a mix of experienced and young players. The Blues are coached by Mike Rayer.

History[]

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)

Foundation and 19th century[]

Bedford RUFC was founded in 1886 after an amalgamation between Bedford Rovers (1876) and Bedford Swifts (1882). Both parent clubs had close connections with Bedford School and Bedford Modern School, and both had fixtures with the leading teams of the period. The Bedford colours of dark and light blue are believed to be a reflection of the schoolmasters association with Oxbridge and the full badge colours are based on the strip of Swifts (black) and Rovers (cerise).

Under the captaincy of Alfred Parrott, a Bedford Modern School master, the new club made an auspicious start, losing only once in its first season (to Leicester) and again only once in its second (to a composite London XV). The early successes, however, paled before the achievements of 1893–94, when the club's reputation persuaded opponents of the stature of Stade Francais, from Paris, and the Barbarians to make the journey over. These two distinguished teams suffered the fate of all other visitors to the club's ground in that marvelous season, defeated by scores of 22–0 and 7–3 respectively in front of huge crowds. Indeed, the Club would complete its normal programme unbeaten, only to lose when somewhat understrength, in an extra match arranged as an Easter Monday attraction at Coventry (0–12). The season's final record was 29 played, 27 won, one drawn and one lost, with 521 points and only 49 against. Records created that season stood for many years and winger H.M Morris still holds the highest try-scoring tally with 38 scores in a season.

While the success on the playing field had been good there was often a problem of where to play at home. There were two main sites where pitches could be made available. One was known as 'The House of Industry' ground in Goldington Road. This was the field in front of the House of Industry -now known as the North Wing Hospital. This is approximately where Bedford play now. The other site was known as Midland Road Ground, an area near the Queen's Park railway bridge.

The first matches in 1886–87 were in Goldington Road — where the Bedford Swifts had played — but during the next few seasons several pitches near the railway station were used. It was recorded in local papers at the time that at least one game was played in the field where Queens Works now stands. The railway and industry required this land and Bedford Rugby returned to the Goldington Road area before an agreement in 1895 was reached with Bedford Cricket Club who actually held the lease. The pitch was laid out in virtually the same spot as it is now.

Beginning of the century[]

The club's record prior to 1905 was good enough to bring the all Blacks to the town for the first time. The match itself was a great attraction with the town's schools and factories closing for the half day to enable people to attend. The result (0–41 to New Zealand) was similar to the fate that most club sides suffered in their successful tour. Only Wales beat them.

In the seasons immediately preceding World War I the fixture list grew stronger, and the club lost only one game in 1913–14. The facilities had also improved. With a better playing arena, the first stand had been erected in 1905 and in 1910 a new pavilion was built. At that time it was considered one of the best rugby club pavilions in the country. The fact that it is still standing (now known as the 'Scrumhall' bar) is proof of the quality of workmanship and materials.

The First World War threatened the club's existence when the ground was taken over by the Military Authorities for use as an Army Camp. Things did improve very quickly and by the late twenties and early thirties Bedford once again were at the top. Even today some older supporters consider this the club's best ever period - practically every member of the team in 1938–39 was very close to international honours. Further improvements had been made at the ground, the biggest being the stand opened in 1933 which is still in use today.

Post war yo-yo era[]

The club recovered again after the Second World War and continued to play all the leading clubs and had a great spell in the mid sixties. There were three Bedford players regularly in the England team with David Perry and Budge Rogers captaining their county. In 1969–70 season Bedford won the Sunday Telegraph English-Welsh rugby union table. Probably, the Blues finest hour was in 1975 when Bedford, captained by Budge Rogers beat Rosslyn Park in the final of the Knock Out Cup at Twickenham 28–12. There was a gate of nearly 18,000 which at the time was a record attendance.

Unfortunately this achievement did not continue with the club having little success resulting in many players with great potential leaving he club. There were bright moments such as John Orwin captaining the England touring party to Australia and Fiji in 1988. When the leagues were introduced in 1987-88 Bedford were in Division 2, promoted to Division 1 in 1989 but relegated immediately to finish in Division 3 for a period.

The professional era[]

At the start of the 1996–97 season when 'The Blues' were in Division 2 the club turned professional. Frank Warren (the boxing promoter) and Sports Network putting in a big investment to secure quality players, many of whom were internationally famous, while others were young but promising. The best example is probably Scott Murray who until June 2008 was Scotland's most capped international. At the second attempt Bedford easily won the Allied Dunbar Division 2 Championship in 1998 and were promoted to Division 1 and were runners up in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup. Financial problems with the club's owners resulted in the club losing many players but there was a nucleus that remained loyal. The Club Coach and Director of Rugby also left.

The decline[]

In April 1999 Sports Network sold the club to Jefferson Lloyd International but this was a financial disaster resulting in Bedford losing further staff. The club was about to be sold and moved from the town, which would have meant the end of first class rugby in Bedford. Following intervention by the RFU in October 1999 a consortium of Bedford businessmen headed by David Ledsom (SDC), Mike Kavanagh, Geoff Irvine (Irvine-Whitlock), David Gunner and David Rawlinson with assistance from Bedford Borough Council and other professional people, the transfer of the club to Bedford Blues Ltd. was organised. Several thousand supporters and businesses in the town bought shares and the club is now viable. The club is now sponsored by Charles Wells Brewery and many other local companies. Bedford have been playing on virtually the same pitch for over 100 years and 32 players have gained International honours while they were actually playing for the club at the time of being honoured.

Stability[]

Mike Rayer, an ex-player of the club and Cardiff RFC, has introduced a free-flowing style which saw Bedford rise to 2nd in the league in 2006, only held back by the dominance of Harlequins, who had been demoted from the Premiership the year before.

The 2006 season had seen the commencement of a relationship with Leicester Tigers, the prominent Premiership side, which allowed some of Leicester's most promising young players to gain experience by playing for Bedford in National Division One. Within the next five years it was hoped that 50% of the club's players would have been brought into the squad through the Academy and youth teams.

The 2006–07 Academy Colts became champions of the English Colts Club Knockout Cup after beating Redruth at Franklin's Gardens. 2007–08 season saw the Colts win the cup again. Being the first Colts team to retain the cup.

Goldington Road Stadium[]

Goldington Road is the home ground of the Bedford Blues, with a capacity of 5,000, usually drawing 2000+ people with each home game. Towards the end of the 05–06 season, two new temporary stands were built for the big home tie against Harlequins, at one point these stands were made a long term part of the stadium, along with the grounds public house and original stand. As of the 06–07 season the extra stands have been removed.^[1][2][3]

Kit[]

The club kit was supplied by Kooga from at least 2004 up until the 2011–2012 season and is now supplied by before changing back to Gilbert on 1 September 2020. The kit is sponsored by three companies; The front of the team shirt by Blue Chip, the sleeves by Wells Bombardier and the back by Lifesure insurance.

Year	Supplier	Chest	Sleeves	Back
1996–2000	Gilbert	Dexion	unknown	unknown
2006–2008	Kooga	Autoglass	Wells Bombardier	Lifesure
2008–2010	Kooga		Wells Bombardier	Lifesure
2010–2011	Kooga		Wells Bombardier	Lifesure
2011–2014			Wells Bombardier	Lifesure
2015–2020		Blue Chip
2020–	Gilbert[4]	Blue Chip	Wells Bombardier	Lifesure

Special events[]

Ladies Day[]

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to support the charity Breast Cancer Care the Blues hold a yearly 'Ladies Day' home match at Goldington Road. The team wear a unique Kooga pink strip for the game with the playing shirts auctioned giving proceeds to Breast Cancer Care. https://web.archive.org/web/20111003121344/https://www.medocmall.co.uk/images/theclubshop_bedford_tickets/products/large/KSSHIRT.gif

The Mobbs Memorial Match[]

The Mobbs Memorial Match is held annually in memory of Edgar Mobbs, an England international who was killed in the First World War. Mobbs played for Northampton and was educated at Bedford Modern School.^[5] Between 2008 and 2011 the match was played at Goldington Road between Bedford Blues and the Barbarians. Since 2012 it has been played alternately at Goldington Road and the Northampton Saints ground at Franklin's Gardens, with the host club facing the British Army team.^[6]

Year	Home	Score	Away
2008	Bedford	19–34	Barbarians
2009	Bedford	45–76	Barbarians
2010	Bedford	50–14	Barbarians
2011	Bedford	35–43	Barbarians
2013[7]	Bedford	43–29	Army
2015[8]	Bedford	47–24	Army

League history[]

BEDFORD RUGBY CLUB LEAGUE HISTORY
Year	League	Level	Position	Other
1987–88	Courage League Division Two	2	5th	-
1988–89	Courage League Division Two	2	2nd (P)	Promoted to Division One
1989–90	Courage League Division One	1	12th	Relegated to Division Two
1990–91	Courage League Division Two	2	8th	-
1991–92	Courage League Division Two	2	10th	-
1992–93	Courage League Division Two	2	7th	Relegated to Division Three
1993–94	Courage League Division Three	3	3rd	-
1994–95	Courage League Division Three	3	1st	Promoted to Division Two
1995–96	Courage League Division Two	2	9th	-
1996–97	Courage League Division Two	2	4th	-
1997–98	Allied Dunbar Premiership Division Two	2	1st	Promoted to Allied Dunbar Premiership
1998–99	Allied Dunbar Premiership	1	13th	-
1999–00	Allied Dunbar Premiership	1	12th	Relegated to National Division One
2000–01	National Division One	2	11th	-
2001–02	National Division One	2	6th	-
2002–03	National Division One	2	7th	-
2003–04	National Division One	2	7th	-
2004–05	National Division One	2	7th	Powergen Shield Winners
2005–06	National Division One	2	2nd	Powergen National Trophy runner-up
2006–07	National Division One	2	7th	-
2007–08	National Division One	2	6th	-
2008–09	National Division One	2	3rd	-
2009–10	RFU Championship	2	4th	RFU Championship play-off semi-finalists
2010–11	RFU Championship	2	2nd	RFU Championship play-off semi-finalists, British and Irish Cup runner-up
2011–12	RFU Championship	2	2nd	RFU Championship play-off semi-finalists
2012–13	RFU Championship	2	3rd	RFU Championship Finalists, British and Irish Cup semi-finalists
2013–14	RFU Championship	2	9th	-
2014–15	RFU Championship	2	10th	-
2015–16	RFU Championship	2	4th	RFU Championship play-off semi-finalists
2016–17	RFU Championship	2	8th
2017–18	RFU Championship	2	3rd	(play-offs for promotion were abolished and replaced by the first ranked team being promoted)
2018–19	RFU Championship	2	3rd
2019–20	RFU Championship	2	8th

Current standings[]

2021–22 RFU Championship Table · · discuss
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Diff	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Points
1	Doncaster Knights	12	9	0	3	329	213	116	5	0	41
2	Ealing Trailfinders	10	8	0	2	495	191	304	8	1	41
3	Jersey Reds	11	7	1	3	309	221	88	7	2	39
4	Cornish Pirates	10	8	0	2	256	156	100	6	0	38
5	Bedford Blues	11	6	0	5	330	304	26	5	4	33
6	Hartpury	10	5	0	5	285	258	27	4	2	26
7	Coventry	12	5	0	7	236	323	−87	3	2	25
8	Ampthill	12	4	1	7	272	354	−82	4	2	24
9	Richmond	10	3	0	7	235	292	−57	4	3	19
10	Nottingham	10	3	0	7	198	354	−156	2	2	16
11	London Scottish	12	1	0	11	209	488	−279	2	2	8
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background will be promoted to Premiership Rugby subject to minimum standards criteria. Updated:26 December 2021 Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". England Rugby.

Current squad[]

The Bedford Blues squad for the 2021–22 season is:^[9][a][b]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Hooker England [b] Hooker England Hooker England [a] Hooker England Prop Ireland Prop Ireland Prop England Prop England [b] Prop England Lock England Jordan Onojaife Lock England [b] Lock England Lock Wales Lock England Back row England [b] Back row England Back row England Back row England Back row Fiji [b] Back row Australia

Player Position Union Scrum-half England Connor Tupai [b] Scrum-half New Zealand Fly-half England Fly-half England Jamie Elliott Centre England [b] Centre England Centre England Centre England [b] Centre England Centre England Wing England [b] Wing England Richard Lane (c) Wing England [b] Wing England Wing England Matt Worley Fullback Hong Kong

International players[]

, (England) Martin Bayfield (England) Lee Dickson (England) Andy Gomarsall, (England) and (2003 World Cup Winner) Jeff Probyn Paul Sackey (England) Rory Underwood, (England) and (British Lions) David Perry, (England) Budge Rogers, (England) -first English player to be honoured by the Queen when he was appointed an OBE in 1969 Dick Stafford, (England) Tony Jorden, (England) Derek Wyatt, (England) Sam Stanley, (England sevens)

Martin Offiah, (Great Britain) Grayson Hart (Scotland) Craig Moir (Scotland) Scott Murray, (Scotland and British Lions) Billy Steele (Scotland) () Darragh O'Mahony (Ireland) Chris Czekaj (Wales) Mike Rayer (Wales) Paul Turner (Wales)

Ben Alexander (Australia) Alistair Murdoch (Australia) Justin Blanchet (Canada) Norm Hadley (Canada) James Pritchard (Canada) Gareth Rees (Canada) Scott Stewart(Canada) Will Hooley (USA) Rudolf Straeuli, (South Africa) and (1995 World Cup Winner) Junior Paramore (Samoa Soane Tonga'uiha (Tonga and Pacific Islanders) (Italy) Matthew Cook, Spain

Club honours[]

• John Player Cup winners: 1975
• Courage League Division Three champions: 1994–95
• Allied Dunbar Premiership Division Two champions: 1997–98
• Powergen Shield winners: 2005

References[]

External links[]

• Official website