Doncaster Knights 14 Nottingham 16: Bedford confident Knights can win relegation battle

JOE Bedford has spoken of the “dark times” he ventured through to finally return to full fitness and, also, find his way home to Yorkshire.

The vastly-experienced scrum-half showed all his customary class in making a promising debut for Doncaster Knights on Saturday following his move from Newport-Gwent Dragons.

His vibrancy was all the more impressive given it was his first appearance since suffering a serious shoulder injury last April, a setback which he admits left him doubting his future in the game.

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“For sure, there were some dark, dark times,” said Leeds-born Bedford, who had joined the Welsh region from Rotherham Titans in 2011. “I’ve got two children and my wife wasn’t working down in Wales either so you start to look over your shoulder and wonder what’s coming next.

“But I worked really hard on my rehab and to get the opportunity to come back to Yorkshire and play for Doncaster was great.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting to play a full 80 minutes so that blew a few cobwebs away and the first half was pretty difficult.

“It’s hard coming to a new club while I had my injury in the back of my mind, all the new calls there too and all the new players to play with as well.

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“So, I was a bit rusty but in the second half I got to run with the ball a bit and reminded myself why we should be playing rugby. For the love of it. We were absolutely outstanding.”

As good as that fulsome second-half display was in this British & Irish Cup contest, it was not enough to secure the win Doncaster required to progress.

It renders Friday’s final game at Melrose a dead rubber but, of course, it is the Championship and their ongoing battle to avoid relegation which is the South Yorkshire club’s principal aim.

In Bedford, who played in the Premiership for two years with Leeds Carnegie, they have found just the sort of calibre player needed to help shift them off bottom. And there was enough here to suggest that task is far from insurmountable.

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“That’s what brought me to Donny,” admitted Bedford, who turns 29 next month. “I love a challenge and there’s certainly one here. We are bottom of the league and two points off Jersey so that’s our priority.

“We’ve got London Scottish here a week on Friday, but if we play like we did in the second half against Nottingham I don’t know about just getting out of relegation... why not push on further?”

Indeed, if they can get a positive result, Scottish could be dragged into the mix themselves while Doncaster will fancy their chances of jumping past Jersey and Moseley too.

Director of rugby Clive Griffiths, who succeeded Brett Davey in November, saw the Knights lose emphatically 52-7 in the Championship at Nottingham six weeks ago, his first fixture in charge.

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Their opponents’ line-up was not too dissimilar at the weekend – high-flying Nottingham are intent on reaching the quarter-finals – yet an increasingly competitive Doncaster pushed them very close.

“When I was at Rotherham, Clive was coach at Doncaster and his sides were always difficult to beat,” added Bedford.

“He’s a very experienced guy in league and union and his knowledge of the game is second to none. You can see the turnaround he’s had on the guys.”

Admittedly, the hosts had been fortunate to only be 11-0 down at the interval, James Arlidge having slotted two early penalties and winger Jack Cobden touching down following a fortuitous bounce.

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Whether it be through their malfunctioning line-out, an aimless kicking game or simple poor discipline, the Knights never looked like getting a foothold.

When, in the 26th minute, referee Eanna O’Dowd did finally award them their first penalty, Douglas Flockhart shanked an eminently kickable effort wide and then hit the post with an easier attempt soon after.

There was some aggression in their play but even then it cost them, Doncaster prop Tom Davies and Nottingham’s Michael Holford both being dispatched to the sin-bin when a scrum exploded just before the break.

However, there was a marked difference in that second period as, implored by Griffiths to keep the ball in hand, they demonstrated far more cutting edge and grew in confidence.

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Michael Keating, the Doncaster full-back playing his first game since injuring his shoulder on the opening day of the season, was particularly dangerous and they were unlucky not to benefit at least once after his surging runs.

However, with their first real attack of the half, it was Nottingham who struck again when replacement winger David Jackson notched his 100th try for the club in the 72nd minute.

That should have been that but Doncaster were livened up by their own replacement Jamie Lennard, who intercepted to put Chris Hallam over before Bedford – switched to fly-half – sliced through for Matt Challinor to feed Davis for a try in injury-time.

Lennard improved both and tiring Nottingham were definitely rattled. They hung on just but, given the battles Doncaster have ahead, that is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Griffiths’s side.

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Doncaster Knights: Keating (Lennard 65); Flockhart, Simpson, Symons (Luke 52), Lewis; Braid (Hallam 77), Bedford; Davies, Hafu (Bergmanas 49), Francis (McGovern 65), Challinor, Parsons (Cadman 50), Pailor (McGovern 39-Pailor49), Rawling (Bradford 57), Planchant.

Nottingham: Lewington; Jack Cobden (Jackson 60), Streather (Joe Cobden 67), Forsyth, Crane; Arlidge, Romans (Barhham 67); Harris, Malton (Wright 73), Holford (Bower 69), Montagu, Rouse (Quinn 73), Cooper (Bower 39-Cooper 49), Wilson, Calladine (Shaw 56).

Referee: E O’Dowd (Ireland).