An away win the East Cup appeared to be the least likely outcome after Bedford stormed into a 12-0 lead after just 11 minutes to shock the mighty Cents. Careless errors by St Albans early in the tackle count repeatedly gifted possession to the Bedfordshire outfit and only desperate defence kept the score to just two converted tries.
Eventually, the Centurions settled and their irresistible forward play began to pay dividends. On 24 minutes a typically powerful run by Kristian Naylor saw him cross the line, swiftly followed by a superb, long-distance solo effort from Dale Gardner. Alex Powdrell added the conversion. The Tigers bounced back with an elegant try of their own before Cents’ Player/Coach Simba Mupamhanga scored from close in. On the stroke of half-time the unstoppable Josh Lawrence added a fourth try and the Centurions entered the break 20-16 up. The Tigers started the second half as impressively as the first and levelled the scores on 42 minutes. Stung into action, the St Albans’ forwards reacted in style with Naylor smashing over for his second of the day. But in an end-to-end contest, the Tigers refused to lie down and grabbed a converted try of their own after 48 minutes and a further try just 3 minutes later to lead 30-24 with less than 20 minutes left on the clock. Again, the forwards stepped up to the plate. After shrugging off would-be tacklers, Josh Lawrence stretched out an arm for his second try, which Powdrell converted to bring the sides level. With just over 10 minutes to go, Naylor left Bedford defenders trailing in his wake to grab his hat-trick. The conversion gave the Centurions a 6-point lead. With a series of injuries and controversial decisions testing the players to the full, the Tigers threw everything they could at a resolute Centurions defence. With just minutes to go, the home team somehow crossed in the corner to get to within two points but missed the all-important conversion. With seconds to go and Bedford attacking on their last tackle, a huge up-and-under seemed certain to set up a try, only for Powdrell to leap highest of all to grab the ball from the air. One tackle later, the final whistle sounded and the game was won. Speaking after the game, Mupamhanga displayed a mixture of pride and frustration. “The result was the most important thing today and the lads showed incredible character to get back into the game after the slow start and then to keep them out at the end. But with a little more composure that game should have been put to bed a lot earlier. The great thing is, we’re improving every week.” Final score: Bedford Tigers 34 St Albans Centurions 36 The Centurions are away to North Herts Knights on Saturday 1st June, 2.30pm start. Comments are closed.
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