Bedford v Coventry Rugby - so who will be singing the blues?

Well, I never felt more like singin' the blues

'Cause I never thought that I'd ever lose

Oh, the moon and stars no longer shine

The dream is gone I thought was mine

There's nothin' left for me to do

But cry-why-why-why over you (cry over you)

Well, I never felt more like runnin' away

But why should I go 'cause I couldn't stay

Without you, you got me singin' the blues

Dave Edmunds - Singing the Blues

Other than Moseley, I think I've watched Coventry play Bedford more than any other club over a period spanning more than 60 plus.

And win or lose, I don't recall ever having gone down to Goldington Road and not felt it was an enjoyable experience.

And that includes the 70 points mauling back in the '90s when Mark Lakey score a consolation try in the final moments of the game. (It was the first time I'd taken Sam to a game by train and to keep him quiet I'd bought him a tub of green slime which was all the rage back then. Big mistake - it must have taken the poor staff cleaning the train that evening a good while to remove all the gunk from the seats. I still feel bad about it even now).

And it was only 24 years ago that Coventry almost bought out the entire Bedford playing team with the intention of rebranding them as Coventry Blues, thus enabling the Cov chairman at that time, Keith Fairbrother, to effectively buy his way into the Premiership.

And we think some of the recent wheeling and dealing amongst the top echelons of the game are a little murky? How different would rugby have looked today had that one been allowed through...?

I often wonder if I wasn't a Cov supporter, which of the many scores of clubs I've visited over the years I'd be most inclined to support.

Bedford is always up there.

Good honest rugby folk, a lovely traditional ground that is very supporter-friendly and a team that always plays a brand of rugby that is as entertaining as any these days.

The 53-52 loss back in 2019 remains the best Cov defeat of all time for me. 'Best defeat' sounds something of an oxymoron but any Cov supporter there that day will know exactly what I mean.

Yes it hurt, doubly so because it was Jake Sharp who masterminded that injury time Rich Lane (who else?) score. But what a barnstormer of a game it was. Sharp had just returned to Bedford after a very frustrating, disappointing even, move to Coventry for the start of the 2019/20 season and he was clearly out to prove a point or two - which he did.

Five of them to be precise.

Also on the scoresheet that day was one Ryan Hutler, two tries to his name and a constant threat all game - how I'd love him to do something similar for us tomorrow.

A meeting between these two old rivals is always exciting and to have it on New Year's Day in front of what seems likely to be a near capacity crowd makes the anticipation all the greater.

And here Coventry Rugby deserves a bucket load of credit for agreeing to move the game forward (from the second week of January) to allow Bedford to benefit from a much larger attendance than would otherwise have been the case - I think they're averaging 2500ish thus far this season and the expected gate tomorrow is 4000 plus.

At a time when the RFU is going out of its way to put all sorts of barriers up to ensure Championship clubs are given the most difficult of rides, it's encouraging to see individual clubs collaborating this way. It will be a bumper pay day for Bedford and in today's rugby climate any additional income coming into a club must surely make a significant difference.

Good on you, Cov.

But I imagine there are also some benefits for Coventry, too. I'm sure Alex Rae won't struggle to motivate his players in any game this season, but having just enjoyed playing in front of 5000 at Coventry, another massive crowd at Goldington Road will certainly help the competitive juices flow. And with a three-week gap until the next game, AR can afford to give his players an additional break, thus allowing extra time for players to recover from injuries/fatigue. For the likes of Trinder, Ma'asi and Poole that must be something of a bonus.

Bedford will, of course, enjoy home advantage in front of what is always a loud and passionate crowd but Coventry are always at their best away when they're up against it - those of us who went to Gloucester in the Premiership Cup pre-season and watched Cov, in front of 8000, eventually succumb to a try scored in the final play of the game will bear witness to that.

Big crowd. Big atmosphere. Big Coventry performance.

Here's hoping.

And in amongst those 4000 plus supporters tomorrow will be a goodly number of Coventry fans - enough to make themselves heard anyway. They'll make sure the players know where they are and the players will definitely want to put on a show for them, as they always try to do.

One thing Bedford really excel at is making their supporters, and those visiting the ground on away days, feel valued. The club's 'X' feed has been really interesting all week in the build-up to the game and has certainly added to excitement levels as the game approaches.

And it's pretty obvious that Bedford have gone the distance to ensure they've provided the optimum match day experience they can - more drink outlets to cater for the increased gate (certainly a lesson to be learned there), video coverage to show what is available and where, up-to-date information on the teams, on ticket sales and other relevant information.

(In this respect, Cov does a really good job of keeping its supporters well-informed, too).

It will be interesting to see how Bedford ha catered (no pun intended ;)) for what is clearly going to be a much larger than average crowd. I felt Cov fell a bit short against Nottingham in this respect last week but the numbers were exceptional in fairness, although it hasn't been a whole lot better even with crowds of 2000 or so less.

A big game tomorrow, then Cov could potentially see itself top of the Championship for the start of the new year, as could Bedford, so both sides have plenty to play for.

And it's too close to call for me.

If Cov hit their straps and play an 80-minute game, then they'll be really hard to beat but Bedford are probably the most attack minded team in the league and if there are any defensive holes, then they'll be sure to find them. Plenty of interesting match-ups out there on display - I'm really looking forward to seeing Pellegrini v Maisey; both like to get their backs running but PP can cause havoc if he's given any sort of space.

With Bedford inclined to run from anywhere, we'll hopefully see the Coventry backs thrive on some decent ball and make good use of the gaps that inevitably open up when play breaks down. Our scrum has looked much more solid these last two games and if that remains the case tomorrow (and it's good to see Nairau starting - he might be a wrecking ball in an open game), then it has all the makings of a corker.

But if we aren't at our best, then Bedford could well make us suffer.

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Not sure who will be singing the blues by the end of the game tomorrow - so for the time being I'm just hedging my bets.

Could have gone for the Guy Mitchell version but I once interviewed Rockpile for my university rag, so it had to be Dave Edmunds...