Preview: In-form Blues ready to rumble with London Welsh

It will have been 30 days since the Blues beat London Scottish in their last Championship outing but there has been little respite with Bedford picking up British & Irish Cup wins over Ulster and Scarlets Select to secure a quarter-final place.

But attention is truly back on the league this weekend and Bedford know that they have a huge challenge ahead of them in the form of Rowland Phillips’ London Welsh.

Looking ahead to the game, Blues director of rugby Mike Rayer said: “What we’ve achieved in getting out of our pool in the B&I Cup has been pretty special.

“Not many people would have given us much of a chance in qualifying, so to do so and get the home draw shows there is a lot of character within this group.

“With that competition parked up now, we are looking forward to carrying the momentum we have built up over the last month or so, back in to the Championship.

“We are under no illusions though, and we face a quality side here on Saturday afternoon. The London Welsh squad is packed with players with Premiership experience and it’s only a matter of time before they hit their straps.”

Starting line-up:

15. Piers O’Conor

14. Pat Tapley

13. Michael LeBourgeois

12. Tom Griffiths

11. George Perkins

10. Jake Sharp

9. Jordan Burns

1. Tom Williams

2. Charlie Clare

3. Phil Boulton

4. Harry Wells

5. Mark Flanagan

6. Justin Blanchet

7. Josh Buggea

8. Nick Fenton-Wells (c)

Replacements:

16. Sam James

17. Camilo Parilli-Ocampo

18. Paul Tupai

19. Biyi Alo

20. Pete White

21. Myles Dorrian

22. Henry Staff