Ampthill make the short trip to Goldington Road on Boxing Day in the Greene King IPA Championship in our final game of 2019 and what has been a fantastic year for the club.

Bedford Blues have already announced that Goldington Road is sold out for this game so if you don’t already have tickets don’t travel to Bedford as you will be disappointed.

Ampthill’s line-up sees a few changes from the cup team with Serafin Bordoli replacing Sam Hanks at inside centre and Tongan international Leon Fukofuka starting at scrum-half this week. In the forwards, Soane Tonga’uiha starts against his old club alongside Syd Blackmore, with Billy Johnson partnering Shay Kerry in the second row whilst Jac Arthur retains the 6 shirt after an impressive debut two weeks ago.

Match Gallery: 20191226 Bedford vs Ampthill

When the Championship fixtures were announced in July, the first one the Mob supporters looked for was the Blues at home. Ampthill now face them twice in 12 days, starting with the final round of the Championship Cup, before heading to Goldington Road in the Greene King IPA Championship on Boxing Day.

Excitement for this game at Dillingham Park has been building during the past few weeks, and expectations are for the biggest crowd of the year if not ever. In contrast, the smallest crowd of the season witnessed the best performance at Level 2 last week in a narrow defeat to Ealing Trailfinders. Momentum is key in sport and the boys will look to build on that performance tomorrow.

Ampthill’s line-up sees a few changes from last week’s side with German international Jörn Schroder making his debut at loosehead; Shay Kerry returns to partner Carl Burgess in the second row and Jac Arthur makes his debut for Ampthill at 6. In the backs, Kevin Barrett takes the 9 jersey, captain Louis Grimoldby shifts to fly-half and Spencer Sutherland replaces Josh Gillespie on the wing.

Match Gallery: Match Report