Devastator of the week
This week’s Devastator of the Week is William Bedingfield of the Men’s Rugby team: a leader on and off the field. During the past fall season, he led the team on tries and played in every game, starting in all but the first. This senior body-smasher plays a gritty form of rugby, ordinarily unique to the pub leagues of Ireland, picked up after a few too many Guinnesses, or with an especially large Tongan- skilful, brutal, and ever-entertaining.
Despite never holding an official leadership position in the club, the “people’s champion” decided to play 20 minutes in his farewell scrimmage appearance. A proper sendoff for the battered veteran. Colby Men’s Rugby took on a conjoined Bates and UMaine Farmington force in a spring scrimmage to keep every gear oiled up and everyone’s heads screwed on straight. Bedingfield came in 20 minutes into the scrimmage for his farewell.
After missing a tackle immediately, Bedingfield buckled in and took a few hits, carrying the ball successfully and landing crucial tackles. His devastating play came around his tenth minute of action when, off a missed pass intended for Oliver Lawrence ’23J, Bedingfield took the broken play into his own hands.
Immediately cutting upfield with the ball around the football field’s 50-yard mark, Bedingfield threw a disgusting fake and sent the first defender on skates with his full body turned from the dangerous ball carrier. Sprinting past his hoodwinked opponent, Bedingfield broke through the first line of defence and was rapidly approaching Bates’s fullback.
With no plans of being denied a try, rugby’s form of a touchdown, Bedingfield stiff-armed the physically inferior defender and continued on his run. With another defender in pursuit, cutting him off from the endzone, Bedingfield cut inside while stiff-arming the chaser, leaving him turned around and hopeless. With only ten yards to the endzone, Bedingfield rose his hands in gladiatorial celebration before diving to touch the ball down and finalize the score.
Having run over 50 yards through multiple defenders, Bedingfield took the opportunity to hang up his cleats and substitute in fresh legs, officially ending his Colby rugby career in spectacular fashion.
Bedingfield took some time with The Colby Echo to discuss his season performance.
The Colby Echo (Echo): Do you feel like you gain power from your beard? How has your gameplay changed since growing it?
Will Bedingfield (WB): Unequivocally yes. It’s made me faster, meaner, grumpier, and most of all more elusive. I recommend all my teammates grow what they can, and fast, the season is coming up.
Echo: Do you have any advice for younger or future rugby players who wear glasses and cannot manage to put contacts in?
WB: Firstly, I understand the struggle and I myself wear both glasses and contacts. It wasn’t always easy to put them in. If you can, get yourself sports goggles. They look hard and make you dangerous, most leagues don’t allow them because they can mess up would-be tacklers. Other than that learn how to stomach contacts.
~ Will Bedingfield `22
