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Newbury visit Goldingon Road tomorrow where the Bedford Blues hold an impressive 100 percent record against them over the last six meetings, but last years fixtures were both a lot closer than they looked. Although a perfect start for the Blues with two wins and two bonus points nobody will be writing off the visitors who pulled out all the stops last season to deny Bedford a bonus point.
With regard to injury’s Paul Tupai will definitely not feature. The former Samoan international suffered a knee injury prior to the Rotherham game and did not feature at all as a result. Ollie Dodge and Liam Roberts are not too far away from full fitness while Sacha Harding continues his rehabilitation by taking a place on the bench for a second week. Ben Pienaar is still missing through injury. Meanwhile Mike Rayer is recovering following a minor operation which forced him to miss the victory in Rotherham. However Chairman Geoff Irvine is confident that Rayer will resume his duties sooner rather than later. He said: "We're speaking to him on a regular basis and we expect him to be around this week. "He had a bit of a reaction to his operation and I don't think he'll be 100 per cent until next week." Team matters continue to be overseen by the coaching team of Martin Hynes and Nick Walshe, a combination that steered the Blues to an excellent 33-10 win in Yorkshire. Geoff Irvine added "Martin and Nick are very professional people and we're very fortunate to have them. Nick has stepped up to the plate, he's in daily contact with Mike who is still pulling the strings but from a bit further away." 15 James Pritchard 11 Ian Davey 12 Ian Vass 13 Brendan Burke 14 Will Harries 9 Karl Dickson 10 Nick Walshe 1 Marco Cecere 2 Greg Sammons 3 Phil Boulton 4 Mike Howard 5 Mouritz Botha 6 Gregor Gillanders 7 Brett Daynes 8 Rory McKay Replacements: 16 Dan Richmond 17 Sam Walsh 18 James Graham 19 Sacha Harding 20 Will Chudley 21 Brad Davies 22 Ollie Dodge |