All change for cup action as Blues welcome Scottish to friday night lights
Mike Rayer has made a total of 13 changes to the Bedford Blues’ starting line-up for tomorrow’s return to the Championship Cup when the London Scots visit Goldington Road.
Only Kieran Curran in the pack and Seán French retain their spots in a new team for the Blues, with the majority of the squad taking a well-deserved rest after a bone-breaking few weeks in the league.
There is a highlight for the Grayson family as Ethan returns in the number 12 shirt while brother James joins us from Northampton Saints to build up his match fitness after returning from injury.
It will be another Goldington Road first, with the brothers playing together on the sacred turf for the first time, despite having played together three times in competitive rugby before.
There’s also a new look pack as Rayer passes first to Monty Royston, Aston Gradwick-Light and Emeka Atuanya as part of his rotation in the pack.
outside opportunity
Bedford Blues have an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals given the volatile nature of Championship Cup qualification after losing to London Scottish in the first round.
Read: Disappointing Blues lose Championship Cup opener in London Scottish
They also lost to Doncaster but a narrow 27-21 win over Coventry keeps their hopes of qualifying alive.
Only the best team in the three pools will qualify for the semifinals, plus the team with the best record that finishes second.
In Pool Two, Doncaster Knights are big favorites to win the group after three wins from three, with Bedford realistically needing to keep up to put either Jersey Reds or Ealing in best second place in Pool One.
Tomorrow night’s opponents have already beaten them once this season, although Mike Rayer’s side have beaten the Championship bottom twice in the league.
A win in their fourth and final encounter will set Bedford Blues up for a late run in the semi-finals, although other results will need to come their way for that to happen.
Despite this, the atmosphere on Goldington Road is always boisterous under the floodlights. Tickets for the tie are still available here.
Bedford Blues from XV:
15th James Grayson, 14th Seán French, 13th Tom Litchfield, 12th Ethan Grayson, 11th Pat Tapley, 10th Louis Grimoldby, 9th Jake Garside; 1st Monty Royston 2nd Aston Gradwick-Light 3rd Ed Prowse 4th Emeka Atuanya 5th Tom Lockett 6th Kayde Sylvester 7th Charles Rylands 8th Kieran Curran
Bedford Blues Substitutes:
16. Jack Hughes, 17. Lewis Holsey, 18. Cenotaph, 19. Luke Frost, 20. Joseph Gaffan, 21. Alex Day, 22. Joel Matavesi, 23. Matt Worley
