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James Pritchard will keep his boots on for at least one more season after all. The 35-year-old fullback had been expected to pursue a coaching role following the Rugby World Cup, but has instead opted to re-sign with Bedford Blues for the 2015/16 Greene King IPA Championship season.
Australian-born Pritchard has been a fixture in the Bedford lineup for the last decade, and this past season started 15 games, scoring 113 points. He was awarded a testimonial match on May 8th for his service, and was selected to play for the Barbarians against Heriot’s FP in April.
Bedford is also the home of Montreal native Justin Blanchet, and the club will welcome brother Sam, an England 7s international, next season. Past Canadians to have appeared at the club include Mark Kohler, Garth Cooke, and Scott Stewart.
Eligible through a grandfather born in Saskatchewan, Pritchard has won 59 caps for Canada since his debut in 2003, and in 2013 he surpassed Gareth Rees as the country’s all-time points scoring leader. His current tally sits at 597.
Pritchard spoke of his delight on the Bedford Blues website:
“I have grown not only to like Bedford Blues, but to love every single aspect of this fantastic club that I have had the pleasure of representing for ten years of my professional career.
As well as having the huge honour of captaining the club, I’ve also been lucky enough to be involved with some fantastic moments at Goldington Road over the years and I intend to do all that I can to ensure that there are plenty more to come next season.”
