1st XV News

Bedford Blues are delighted to announce the signing of former England Saxons hooker Tom Lindsay for the 2017/18 Championship campaign.

Lindsay, 29, has joined the Goldington Road club following a short spell with Saracens during which time he impressed in a Blues jersey during the Mobbs Memorial game in March.

Having come through the Academy at Saracens, Lindsay went on to make 129 appearances for rivals Wasps and it was during this time that he was selected to represent England Saxons in the 2010 Churchill Cup. Tom moved to Gloucester in 2015 and has gone on to gain Championship experience having played briefly for London Scottish this year.

Bedford Blues fans came out in their hundreds on Saturday afternoon to say a final farewell to stalwart Mike Howard who signed off his tenure at the club with a high scoring testimonial encounter.

Blues past and present put on a fine display of running rugby which saw 150 points being scored in total with the final score being Bedford 70, Mike Howard’s Legends 80.

There were only a couple of minutes on the clock when Bedford opened the scoring thanks to a Ryan Hutler effort which was converted calmly with a drop kick by Camilo Parilli-Ocampo. Something he would repeat twice more during the afternoon.

There will be a host of Bedford Blues legends on display at Goldington Road on Saturday as the club bids a fond farewell to long-serving lock Mike Howard.

Howard, 31, has been a mainstay of the second row since joining from North Walsham after a successful trial in 2008 and he has played a huge role in the Blues' successes ever since.

Blues Community are delighted to announce their next camp dates for the end of May Half-Term holiday as we hit the road for the very first time with all four days hosted in Bedford Park.

The 4-day half-term camp will be in partnership with the Pavilion in Bedford Park, who will be providing a packed lunch for every child in attendance, along with facilities near our site in the park. Registration and collection will still be at Goldington Road.

Dates for summer camps have also been released on the booking system for parents to book early and plan the holiday schedule in advance.

Bedford Blues will be saying goodbye to another long-standing member of the squad after it was confirmed that fly half Jake Sharp will be joining Championship rivals London Scottish for the 2017/18 season.

Jake, 25, joined Bedford on dual-registration from Saracens in 2009/10 before making his move a permanent one a year later. A hugely influential player, Sharp battled tirelessly to make the number ten jersey his own while enjoying healthy competition with the likes of Myles Dorrian, Steffan Jones, Jamie Lennard, Mark Atkinson, Ian Vass and - briefly - his pal Owen Farrell.