Last weekends contest between second place Sutton and bottom placed Bedford was a classic game of two halves with the bottom placed team taking Sutton by surprise with a deserved 13-0 lead at the break but Sutton struck back in the second half scoring 5 tries plus 4 conversions to win 33-13, gaining a bonus point and keeping the pressure on league leaders Nuneaton, who they trail by just 1 point.

The game marked the mid-point of the league campaign and the victory recorded Sutton's tenth win of the season with Sutton having uncharacteristically lost three away games early in the season. But after 13 games Sutton are now back on track, playing well both home and away and they are very much in contention to win the league championship at the end of the season. Halfway through the season Sutton are well placed in a very tight contest at the top of the table, sitting 1 point behind league leaders Nuneaton and 2 points ahead of third place Broadstreet, who they face this weekend to start the return leg of league matches in their last game before the Christmas break.

In a game critical to both teams but for vastly different reasons, Sutton kicked off and to their credit, undeterred by their precarious league position the determined and focused Bedford side gathered the ball and ran at their illustrious hosts. With confidence they ran the ball wide through their strong running backs and into the hands of left wing Luke Levitt who raced 40 metres to score an excellent opening try. The conversion by flyhalf James Mortimer gave the visitors a 7-0 lead and the perfect start after just 3 minutes of play.

With Sutton struggling to settle into the game, it was only their excellent last ditch defence that prevented further tries during this troubled period but Bedford did take full advantage of Sutton errors and indiscretions and extended their lead to 13-0 with two well struck penalties by flyhalf Mortimer. The first from 30 metres on 15 minutes and the second from 35 metres on 25 minutes, gave the visitors a clear advantage at the break, which clearly belied their lowly league position, which in turn does not reflect their genuine pace and ability.

However, it was a revitalised Sutton who appeared for the second half and within 4 minutes they had reduced the arrears to 7-13 and just 4 minutes later the home side took the lead 14-13 thanks to consecutive tries by no8 Fraser Tait, both converted by centre Alex White.

The first of the game changing scores came from a penalty on the left wing which was kicked into the left corner and then as the Sutton pack drove for the line having re-gathered the ball from the attacking lineout in the Bedford 22, the outstanding Fraser Tait broke to the left of the maul to claim Sutton's first score and then following the restart an amazing break through the mid field by Sutton's wing wizard Nathan Burchell took play into the Bedford 22. Quick support put Fraser Tait in for his second try, this time to the right of the posts and with centre Alex White striking the ball accurately between the posts for both tries Sutton looked like their oldselves and a very different side from the one that played the first half.

The key substitutions of Josh Groom in the backs and Mike Worthington in the back row and the long awaited return of Chris Hanley to the front row for his first start in many months, appeared to inspire Sutton and collectively they lifted their game. As a result Sutton pressed on putting the Bedford pack under increasing pressure subjecting them to powerful rolling mauls, which gained Sutton field position and devastating energy sapping victories as the Bedford pack were driven back in the forward plays for much of the game. The Sutton lineout was also playing well at this point in the game under the baton of hooker Jamie Scott gaining good possession for the home side which was well distributed by scrum half Mark Rayner and finally the relentless pressure lead to a try for second row Steve McCormack. The all action second row marked his welcome return to the team with a 10 metre canter to the right corner after a break by Fraser Tait took play into the Bedford 22 and a perfectly timed scoring pass by centre Alex White extended Sutton's lead to 19-13 with 15 minutes left to play. Having gained a valuable 6 point breathing space Sutton were now clearly in the driving seat and skipper Dave Edwards tied up the game securing Sutton's bonus point with a brace of tries, both converted by Alex White to give Sutton the 33-13 winning margin to keep their league challenge on course.

This weekend Sutton travel to third place Broadstreet to start their return leg of matches with another critical contest. All support welcome at the impressive Broadstreet stadium for Sutton's last league outing before Christmas so lets give the Sutton team the rousing support they need to get the second half of the season off to a winning start. KO 2.15.

SCRFC other team results:

The essentially young Sutton Development side, combining youth and experience as illustrated by the youthful Ben Morgan from last seasons colts at flyhalf and ex first teamer Mark Baines at prop, proved they have developed and matured perfectly this season as they moved smoothly into the next round of the Warwickshire 2nd XV Team Cup with an excellent 35-22 win over Nuneaton RFC 2nd XV.

Sutton 3rd XV continued the good news story with an emphatic 62-0 win away to Aston Old Edwardians 2nd XV, in their local derby.