Sam Bedlow seals last-gasp victory for Bristol Bears

The rain was falling heavily at Ashton Gate on Friday evening. It was wet. It was cold. But with the last kick of the match from Sam Bedlow, Bristol Bears beat Northampton Saints by 18 points to 17.

The Bristol faithful would have given away their last pint of Thatchers Gold to watch their team in the flesh again.

To see the rampaging runs of Nathan Hughes, felling opposition players with ball in hand. To see Joe Joyce throw a dummy with his patented Southmead Sidestep. To see the electrifying pace of Niyi Adeolokun.

And to see that win snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Sam Bedlow, cool as a cucumber:

Bristol Bears fans will be watching the third round of Premiership games with envy this weekend as fans are allowed back into stadiums in some parts of England for the first time since March.

In tier one, a maximum of 4,000 fans will be allowed at outdoor events, with up to 2,000 people allowed in tier two areas.

With Bristol in tier three, however, there are still no fans allowed inside Ashton Gate, which meant that under the floodlights on Friday night there was an all-too familiar echo rather than a roar which can only be heard as an addition to the team’s walk-on music, The Greatest Show.

Bristol Bears players observed a minute’s silence before kick-off – photo: JMP

Rugby was put into perspective before the kick-off as a minute’s silence was held to remember the family members of two long-serving personnel in the club’s management team.

Bristol’s head of performance analysis, Stuart Powell, and team doctor, Harriet Collins, have both lost close family in the past month.

And just as the match kicked off, it was revealed that 16-year-old Luke Wheaton, one of the four people who died in the Avonmouth explosion on Thursday, was a player at North Bristol RFC at Almondsbury.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking, North Bristol RFC tweeted. “All of our love & thoughts to Luke’s family, team mates, coaches and everyone else that knew him”

Henry Purdy scored Bristol’s first try under the floodlights of Ashton Gate on Friday evening after the home side put in a surprisingly lacklustre first half performance.

Alapati Leiua thought he had scored with a minute to go but the try was ruled out for a knock-on.

With both Callum Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd in the Wales squad, kicking duties fell to Tiff Eden, who kicked one penalty but missed other chances from the tee before being substituted midway through the second half.

So it was Sam Bedlow who converted Piers O’Connor’s try – chasing a clever kick from Harry Randall – which took Bristol to within two points of Saints with just eight minutes to go, and it was Bedlow who calmly kicked the match-winning penalty in the final seconds of the game.

Fans are still unable to watch Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate – photo: JMP

Main photo: JMP

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