Sat 20 Sep 2025
It was 1st vs 2nd this past Saturday as Peterborough RUFC welcomed League leaders, Bedford Athletic to Fortress Fengate. In a really physical contest which saw both sides pick up several injuries Bedford Ath had a bit more luck on their side and came away with a 29-24 win although Borough did pick up two bonus points to keep them in 3rd place.
Borough started the brighter of the 2 sides and were denied an early try when George Lindley was deemed held up over the line by the referee despite him not being in the best position to see. Borough kept on toiling and were rewarded when a returning Mooki Tshepo scored. From the restart Bedford began to build their attack and showing their class scored three tries, with 2 tries converted to pushed the score to 19-5. Borough were far from beat however and began to wrestle back some momentum, with time almost up in the half Alfie Lewis forced his way over to keep Borough in the contest. With the halftime whistle Bedford had a lead of 19-10.
The second have was just as physical as the first with several breaks for injuries. Bedford started second half the stronger but Borough scored a great 70 metre try when right wing Dylan Evans swooped on a loose ball and broke free to score a converted try against the run of play and leaving the home side only 2 points behind. The visitors were quick to make Borough pay for any mistakes and extended their lead further with another try which was then answered by Borough with another score of their own with Pat Webb finishing some great inter play. Bedford did kick a penalty to push their lead to 29-24 so Borough would have to score a try to win. With time almost up the home supporters thought their team was about to win when Aram Jones made a break and looked clear only for the referee to call him back for an infringement. The final whistle went and although the home side had lost,29-24, Borough can take great pride in their performance.
Director of Rugby Shane Manning's comments " Firstly I'm really proud of the effort and heart the lads showed today. I thought we had done enough to win the game but it wasn't meant to be. We had a dominant scrum and maul but didn't get a lot from the ref. Despite several back to back penalties in Bedford's 22 the ref wouldn't yellow card anyone yet he gave 5 yellows in our game he refereed two week's ago. So thats really frustrating as the guys were working so hard. Man of the match went to Rob Jacobs but it could of gone easily to a number of players such was the effort. We have a well deserved week off now before we face Daventry away. It will be another tough game that I'm will test us but hopefully we can keep on improving and get a valuable away win."
