Bedford Blues chalk up double day double in historic day at Cambridge

An historic afternoon saw both senior sides play on the same day for the very first time, with the maximum five point haul for Mike Rayer’s side the perfect icing on the cake on what was a fantastic day of rugby.

The men's 22-12 victory was a gritty and attritional performance.

From conceding 41 points at Hartpury to just 12 this time out, how they managed to get to half-time without conceding was because of an immense defensive shift, and Sean French’s try gave them a 5-0 lead at the break.

Then tries from Dean Adamson and Will Maisey put them well in the clear.

Back came Cambridge from 15-0 down and a try out wide from Matty Williams set the nerves jangling amongst the huge swathe of visiting supporters before a first of the season from Luke Frost secured all five points late on.

Williams’ late second did nothing to dampen the spirits as Blues kept up their top four ambitions.

Blues Women produced a dominant 43-15 victory in a tough encounter against a Cambridge side who caused their own share of problems.

But when you’ve got the key axle that includes Usher-Harris – who scored four – and captain Lucy Middleton – whose kicking threat is better than anyone else at these sorts of levels – you can grind down your opponents and pull away towards the end.

Blues Women nilled their opponents in the second half, despite being under a lot of pressure.

There were seven tries in total for Blues, and 10 overall in the game, as Middleton also dotted down for a personal tally of 13, while Heidi Lawson got her customary try and Esme Fish added a first of the campaign off the bench.

It was the perfect preparation actually for what will be a joyous weekend, as they host Stockwood Park in the End of Season Title Party.