Biggleswade one win from promotion after beating Rushden

Action from Biggleswade's win on Saturday.

Biggleswade were not at full strength in the front row with absentees Dom Nott (delayed honeymoon), Kyle Loan (strained back) and Ben Yates having injured his knee. But Matt Cowley on his 50th appearance, Martyn Hull and Ben Watson were more than a match for the opposition.

Things didn’t go well for Biggleswade in the early stages. They pressed hard from the kick off but it was the visitors who scored first with an unconverted try.

Biggleswade hit back with the skipper Jake Devereux slicing through the defence for a try under the posts. Ben Cowling added the two points and a later penalty to put Biggleswade in front.

However, Rushden were all over Biggy like a rash, adding two more tries before the break to lead 17-10. Being behind at the half-way point in a game is not the usual scenario for Biggleswade.

Turning round to play towards the road it was not long before it was all-square again. Flanker Liam Dunne, who was really relishing the challenge, ploughed through for a try. His outstanding efforts all afternoon earned him the accolade as Man-of-the-Match.

Prop Martyn Hull, after a great run down the touchline, was replaced by the evergreen Jimmy Caulfield making only his second appearance of the season. James West also came on to give Jensen Beal a breather and was soon in the thick of the action.

Rushden stretched their lead with a penalty in front of the posts but that was the zenith of their scoring.

Biggleswade did all the scoring from then on. Having found the way to the try line, Liam Dunne did it again near the posts. This made it a simple conversion giving Biggleswade the lead.

Winger Alex Borg, who always looked very dangerous with ball in hand but is sadly not available every week because of family commitments, stretched the lead with another fine try.

Jake Devereux, who only had a one week ban for his red card against Queens, completed the scoring with his second try to stretch the lead and deny the visitors a losing bonus point.

With three games left Biggleswade need one more win to secure promotion, but the matches are all against the other clubs in the top four of the table and all away. Next up in two weeks is an away trip to St Ives.