In the opening minutes though former Saints Academy member Ben Patston had a bit of a nightmare with his first two kick-off attempts, kicking one off short and a second long. James Pritchard was having no problems with his radar from the tee however, and when he was presented with a simple opportunity to open the scoring in the third minute he did so.

But Saints let a near-certain seven points go when a superb attacking move was ended with a sloppy pass from Jon Clarke. Carlos Spencer, who had helped create the space in the first place, missed out on the try. Nevertheless a late Jon Phillips tackle was spotted which gave Barry Everitt a straightforward opportunity to equalise, which he did.

The handling let Saints down twice more in the next couple of minutes. Firstly a Johnny Howard pass from a midfield scrum went through Everitt’s hands, ending a potential move down the right. Then a Bruce Reihana knock-on on his 22 gave Bedford the position from which to take the lead again.

One penalty was kicked to the corner, but a second, simpler, chance was not spurned which Pritchard converted. Everitt equalised again two minutes later to leave the score at the end of the first quarter six-all.

Saints had a couple of near misses in the next couple of minutes. Blues captain Matt Allen had a threatening pass ruled forward then narrowly failed to reach a long Dylan Hartley five-metre lineout throw.

But Saints should have two tries before the half-hour. Chris Ashton made a searing break in the 26th minute that left several Bedford defenders in his wake. Reihana failed to hold onto that pass, but his incursion into the line in the next attack, taken on by Paul Tupai, created another good opportunity.

The Bedford pack won a crucial turnover near their line that Karl Dickson cleared. Spurred by this they set up camp in the Saints 22 and were denied a try themselves when prop Marco Cecere dropped the ball over the line. Saints also received a blow when Everitt had to be helped off to be replaced by Stephen Myler.

Bedford were dominating at this point and the first try came somewhat against the run of play. Dickson’s knock on at a ruck was hacked ahead and collected by Clarke. He fended Pritchard off and held on until Matt Lord galloped up in support. The Blues defence was scattered by this point and when Ashton received the pass the score was inevitable. Myler converted and Saints had a 13-6 lead that lasted until half-time.

It took three minutes for this to be extended by three points when Bedford infringed a ruck and Myler converted the penalty. But though Saints kept up the intensity that had earned them that score it was short-lived and by the hour Bedford had pulled back three points from Pritchard’s boot.

It was no less than they deserved, both for holding out Saints’ initial pressure and for building up pressure on the home line. The visitors would have deserved a try of course, but the ball was slow and with not enough pace and numbers outside taking the points was obvious.

Saints, on the other hand, opted for the corner when given a penalty. This pressure this generated brought penalty after penalty and a yellow card for Dan Richmond. Although Bedford maintained their pack numbers by substituting Pritchard it made no difference and Saints were awarded a penalty try.

With Myler’s conversion this try finished the game as a contest at 23-9 but Saints didn’t stop there, scoring two more times to win the bonus point. The first of these was a superb team try with plenty of inter-passing putting Myler in at the corner.

Saints were dealt another injury blow five minutes later when Paul Shields, only just on as a substitute, stayed down and had to be helped off. This also came in a period where replacements were coming and going with increasing rapidity, and the game understandably became a touch disjointed.

In the last minute of play, however, it came together again for the Saints. Howard had been replaced by Mark Robinson, receiving a good ovation for his hundredth appearance (as did Tom Smith for his 150th), and the substitute – together with Myler – created Ashton’s second.

This tied him with the Saints league record, which has stood for over a decade, and the winger’s joy was obvious with his celebration. Myler converted and Saints had a full rack of points once more.
 
Teams:
Northampton Saints – Spencer; Ashton, Clarke, Downey, Reihana (capt); Everitt (Myler 30mins), Howard (Robinson 67mins); Smith (Tonga’uiha 67mins), Hartley, Murray (Shields 72mins (Smith 76mins)), Lord (Hoy 68mins), Rae, Tupai, Lewitt, Hopley.

Bedford Blues – Burke; Page, Roberts (Hinkins 78mins), Allen (capt), Pritchard (Sammons 64-76mins); Patston (Owen 75mins), Dickson (Chudley 75mins); Cecere (Volland 53mins), Richmond (Sammons 76mins), Fortuna, Phillips (Brenton 62mins), Botha, Strauss, Harding (Mundy 70mins), McKay.

Scorers:
Northampton Saints – Tries: Ashton (2), Penalty, Myler; Cons: Myler (3); Pens: Everitt (2), Myler.

Bedford Blues – Pens: Pritchard (3).

Yellow card:
Richmond (63mins)

Attendance:
13,464

TIMELINE:
3mins BLUES Pen Pritchard 0-3
8mins SAINTS Pen Everitt 3-3
16mins BLUES Pen Pritchard 3-6
18mins SAINTS Pen Everitt 6-6
36mins SAINTS Try Ashton Con Myler 13-6
HALF-TIME SAINTS 13 BLUES 6
43mins SAINTS Pen Myler 16-6
57mins BLUES Pen Pritchard 16-9
62mins BLUES Yellow card Richmond
66mins SAINTS Try Penalty Con Myler 23-9
71mins SAINTS Try Myler 28-9
87mins SAINTS Try Ashton Con Myler 35-9
FULL-TIME SAINTS 35 BLUES 9