Northampton Saints will travel to Goldington Road to face Bedford Blues for their first preseason encounter ahead of the 2025/26 season – with this year’s Mobbs Memorial Match taking place on Friday 5 September.
One of rugby’s oldest annual fixtures, the Mobbs Memorial Match was created in 1921 and honours Saints legend, World Rugby Hall-of-Fame inductee, and World War One hero, Edgar Mobbs.
A new format was agreed in 2023 between Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues, East Midlands Rugby Union, Army Rugby Union and the Mobbs Memorial Trustees – which now sees Saints and Blues contest the fixture annually.
This year’s clash will take place in Bedford with a 7.45pm kick-off scheduled on Friday 5 September.
Tickets are available now directly from Bedford Blues from £20.50 (adult) and £4.50 (under-18s) by CLICKING HERE. Please note prices rise by £5 if purchased on the day of the match.
The match has always supported the charitable aims of the Mobbs Memorial Fund, which promotes the development of age-group rugby throughout the East Midlands by way of grants to clubs within the East Midlands Rugby Union – and this has continued within the fixture’s new format.
Supporters will be able to add a donation when they purchase tickets with a ‘One for Mobbs’ bolt-on extra – with further fundraising activity including an auction, raffle and more to launch nearer matchday.
Saints’ Chief Executive, Julia Chapman, said: “We’re excited to be heading back to Goldington Road later this summer for this prestigious match in the second year of its new format.
“We have a fantastic partnership with Bedford Blues, with many of our young players gaining valuable experience with them in the Championship over the last few seasons – but, the on-field rivalry between the teams remains strong, and I am sure this will be another compelling preseason contest.”
Julia Chapman, Chief Executive at Northampton Saints
“Our vision was to evolve and grow the Mobbs Memorial Match when we tweaked the format, and I have no doubt we’ll be treated to a fantastic event in Bedford in front of a big crowd.
“While we remember Saints legend Edgar Mobbs, the match also has the interests of youth rugby within the East Midlands at its core, so we’re delighted to be playing our part again to help raise money for the Mobbs Memorial Fund and the fantastic work they do.”
Mobbs’ legendary Saints career saw him make 234 appearances between 1905 and 1913, scoring 179 tries. He was the first Northampton player to captain England – against France in 1910.
At the outbreak of the First World War he volunteered to join the British Army but was turned down on the grounds of his age. Undaunted, he set about raising a company of volunteers, with more than 450 men joining along with Mobbs. The bulk of these volunteers formed D Company of the 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment – quickly becoming known as the Mobbs Own.
Having joined as a private soldier, Mobbs quickly rose through the ranks, eventually commanding the battalion as lieutenant colonel. On 31 July 1917, Mobbs led an assault on a German machine gun post in Shrewsbury Forest near Ypres. Mobbs was hit during the attack and died of his wounds shortly afterwards. His body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres and at Franklin's Gardens where his legacy lives on.
💬 “Mobbs’ legacy is still felt in the East Midlands today.”
— Northampton Saints 😇 (@SaintsRugby) February 10, 2021
As we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the very first Mobbs Memorial Match, Club Historian @GrahamMcKechnie reflects on a century of commemorating one of the greatest ever to wear Black, Green and Gold.
A Mobbs Memorial was unveiled in 1921 before thousands of people in Northampton’s market square. Later that year, the first Mobbs Memorial Match was contested between the East Midlands and the Barbarians, and the fixture was played annually between those sides until 2011.
Northampton and Bedford then played host for the match every year since 2012 when it was re-launched, with the two clubs going toe-to-toe with the British Army on a biennial basis at their respective home grounds, before the format was amended again last year – with the fixture now set to be contested annually during preseason between Saints and Blues.
Bedford Blues’ Chief Operating Officer, Gareth Alred, said: “We are delighted to be hosting Northampton Saints in the prestigious Mobbs Memorial Match in only the second year of its new format and with a trophy at stake.
“The relationship with Saints has never been stronger, but I expect the on-field rivalry to be as fierce as ever. The vision remains to grow this fixture, and we will have lots planned to mark the history that this match represents, hopefully in front of a packed crowd.
“We look forward to welcoming our Blues Family, and Northampton Saints, back to Goldington Road in a few weeks’ time!”
