Blues announce team for Coventry clash

Action from Bedford's win over Jersey on Saturday

Bedford having named their 22 man squad which will be heading to Coventry for the first time in nine years.

It will actually be 10 seasons since the Blues last played at Butts Lane Arena as the 15-15 draw in December 2009 was played at the Ricoh Arena as Cov’s future looked uncertain at the time.

But the past is the past and the Blues will be heading into the fixture knowing that they face a tough challenge against a fired up Coventry side who will certainly want to bounce back from their defeat at Cornish Pirates last weekend.

Looking ahead to the game, Blues forwards coach Alex Rae said: “There’s a lot of history between the two clubs and there are a fair few former Blues who could be lining up against us this weekend and wanting to put in a big performance.

“We’ve started the season pretty well in terms of results, but we are nowhere near where we want to be.

“It was a scrappy win over Jersey Reds last week but there were positives and we really need to build on them if we want to leave Coventry with another win.”

Bedford make a couple of changes to their pack after Mark Flanagan was ruled out with a calf strain.

Oli Curry moves back into the second row with Alex Rae returning to blindside flanker, while Jarad Williams also gets the nod at number eight with Huw Worthington moving onto the openside and new signing Harry Davies is called on to the replacement bench.

Starting line-up:

15. Rich Lane

14. Ryan Hutler

13. Jamie Elliott

12. Fraser Strachan

11. Dean Adamson

10. Ed Coulson

9. Lee Dickson (c)

1. Sean McCarth

2. Charlie Clare

3. Alex Penny

4. Will Carrick-Smith

5. Oli Curry

6. Alex Rae

7. Huw Worthington

8. Jarad Williams

Replacements:

16. Jacob Fields

17. Camilo Parilli-Ocampo

18. Ben Cooper

19. Ed Taylor

20. Justin Blanchet

21. James Lennon

22. Harry Davies