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Bedford Blues ran in 12 tries as they retained the Baker Brothers Cup in dominant fashion on Friday night (21 August), beating National One side, Cambridge 76-5 at Goldington Road. Debutant winger, Marcus Kershaw scored four alongside a brace apiece for Louis James and Tui Uru, while George Worth, Lucas Titherington, Joey Conway and James Fish were all on the scoresheet on a try-filled opening night of rugby union. It had been 83 days since Bedford Blues were last on home turf in a losing Champ Rugby play-off final against Worcester Warriors, but with the new Champ Rugby campaign less than a month away, preparations are beginning to heat up. The Blues will travel to the Warriors in the first game of the new season on 19 September in a second tier championship which will see games free-to-air for the first time, as BLAZE will be broadcasting occasional Sunday fixtures. Friday night’s Baker Brothers Cup, of which Bedford Blues were reigning holders after last year’s triumph over Ampthill, was an early chance to get some minutes under the belt, as well as an opportunity to lift a trophy. And the Blues took it with both hands, as they trampled all over the visitors in a one-sided affair. Blues open up sizable lead Friday night’s opponents, Cambridge didn’t win a single Champ Rugby game last season as they dropped to National One with a whimper, and they started this encounter in a similar vein as the Blues were on the scoresheet inside two minutes. The first attacking move of the night was kicked off by new signing, Kershaw who instantly boasted his Sevens pedigree with a break down the left wing. A few phases later, the ball was with full back Louis James in his first game since March, who cut inside a flailing red shirt to dot down on his 50th appearance for the Blues. Three minutes later, the lead was doubled as Joey Conway pounced on a Cambridge mistake, kicking a fumble forward and finding the favourable bounce of the ball, allowing him to follow James under the posts. Cambridge hit back immediately as Ted Warner was the first to reach an excellent chip forward from Ethan Thorne to touch down, but it would turn out to be their only points of the night as Bedford proceeded to score ten further tries. They were allowed a simple chance for their third, as Kershaw intercepted a loose pass to stroll home the easiest of his four scores as Bedford opened up a lead they would never look close to surrendering. The frantic opening 15 minutes were befitting of the pre-season feel before the encounter settled down somewhat, but it was the Blues who scored next as Tui Uru powered over for the imaginary bonus point. From there, the vast majority of the final quarter of the half was spent deep inside Blues territory as Cambridge enjoyed their best spell of a tricky night, but – despite a yellow card for Uru – Bedford held on until half-time to preserve their 28-5 lead. All change Fly half, Will Maisey had kicked all four conversions, although he probably won’t get a set of four simpler ones all season, and he was replaced by new signing, Ben Dufficy as one of a host of changes for both sides at half time. One man who hadn’t been replaced at the break was Louis James, and he produced a case of déjà vu, as he dived inside a tackle within two minutes of the restart to add Bedford’s fifth try. Dufficy added the extras for his first two points in Blues colours, before James Fish bundled over a sixth score and Kershaw added his second try as Bedford soared clear. Australian, Dufficy almost added his name to the try scoring column as the hour mark approached, with Titherington’s stunning reverse offload flying just ahead of the former Taranaki Bulls man. The half century of points was however brought up shortly after as Uru stretched over a second of his own near the posts. Kershaw completed his hat-trick after 66 minutes, breaking clear of a tackle to dive over on the left wing, before George Worth slid in a tenth try for Bedford. By now, Cambridge were barely getting out of their own half and Goldington Road was being treated to a much-needed smattering of rain, but as a contest, it had ended long before as the clock ticked down towards 80 minutes. The 11th try came courtesy of Lucas Titherington, while the final act of a one-sided encounter was left to man of the match, Kershaw who capped an ideal debut with his fourth score of the evening. The 76-5 final score was testament to a dominant display by Bedford; a far cry from the league fixture here last season, when Cambridge almost shocked the Blues only for Mike Rayer’s men to prevail by a single point. His side will surely face tougher tests in another mammoth season, beginning with the second and final pre-season friendly against Prem powerhouses, Bath on Friday, 11 September. Then comes the season’s curtain raiser, as the Blues look to exact a modicum of revenge on the reigning champions in Worcester ahead of a further 25 league fixtures in what will be another intriguing season of Champ Rugby.