A move to the Championship has come slighter earlier than new Bedford Blues signing Ben Cooper had imagined but now he is ready to grasp the opportunity with both hands.
The prop was one of a raft of Cambridge players, plus director of rugby Bob Crooks, who the crisis-hit National League One side this week announced it had stopped paying because of its financial plight.
But the 22-year-old wasn’t left in limbo for long as Bedford Blues swooped to sign him and flanker Darren Fox on Tuesday.
It came as a relief for the tighthead who said: “We found out about the money problems at Cambridge on Monday at training and come 11pm I’d made the decision to move.
“I’ve wanted to play in the Championship for a while and I was planning to move at the end of the season anyway but I’m ready for it.”
Once aware of the interest from Bedford the forward admits that the switch from the Grantchester Road club – where he learnt his trade from former Blue, Mike Guess – was a no-brainer.
“I’m looking forward to it. It will be a lot different to playing at Cambridge because we’ve been losing a lot, so to move to a team that is more used to winning will be good,” Cooper explained.
And with the play-offs on the horizon, he will be entering new territory with the pool stages and then a knock-out format.
He said: “In Cambridge’s division there are no cup games or anything like that, so it will be a new experience for me.”
But Cooper, who trained with his new side for the first time on Tuesday, revealed that he’s quickly been brought up to speed on the task ahead and the philosophy of the club, through a number of other former Cambridge stars.
He said: “It’s nice to make the move with Darren, a familiar face, but I know Handre Schmidt, Stefan Liebenberg and Ricky Reeves as well. I spoke to all of them at training. It was a good session and there’s a good buzz around the place.”
Director of rugby Mike Rayer believes the prop is one for the future and Cooper was humbled by the praise of the Blues boss, admitting: “It’s nice to be thought of in such a positive way.”
Today’s trip to Leeds Carnegie comes too soon for Cooper, but though he is not in the squad he will travel to Headingley.
But as Blues lost to the Yorkshire side at Goldington Road last year all the talk this week has been of turning the tables.
“I think the feeling is that the lads want to get a bit of revenge.”
