Bury St Edmunds head coach Ben Penfold believes side will be ‘a really hard team to beat’ following victory over Oxford Harlequins

Following their first victory of the 2024/25 season, Bury St Edmunds head coach Ben Penfold believes his side will prove to ‘be a really hard team to beat’ for other clubs in the National League 2 East.

The Wolfpack comfortably eased past Oxford Harlequins 61-33 in their first match at the Greene King IPA Haberden on Saturday, which followed back-to-back defeats from their first two games of the campaign.

Tries from Elliot McPhun, Ruaraidh Williams, George Grigg-Pettitt, Aidan Shorthall and Will Metcalfe sent the Wolfpack on their way and although Willo Bicknell and James Roberts dotted down for the visitors either side of half-time, Bury made sure of victory in the second half through a brace of tries from Will Affleck, a second from Metcalfe and one from substitute Henri Lavin.

“I think it (the performance) was pretty good. Obviously, (it’s our) first home game and to get the win is the main thing to drive momentum,” said Penfold, who recorded six conversions on Saturday.

“We’ve been nearly there the last two weeks and we’ve got the win, that’s the main thing.

“Defensively, when it’s like that, is always going to (go on the) back burner, but we’ve got to be better than that, especially at home, but happy to score that many points at home.

“The home crowds here are fantastic. I think we topped the average attendance (last season) for home crowds here and (we’ve been) obviously trying to portray that to the (new) lads, who have had to wait three weeks to get it (their first home game).

“The supporters are amazing. I’ve played at a couple of rugby clubs in my time and they’re definitely up there with the top. The amount of people, the way the club is with all the kids involved, it truly is a good spectacle.

“And I think the lads do truly appreciate every home game.”

Asked what impressed him the most about his side’s performance, Penfold said: “I think it was our execution. We spoke about it in the last couple of weeks that we were nearly there, and we executed today, that’s the main thing.”

Penfold and director of rugby Jacob Ford added 24 signings to the Wolfpack over the summer, as 10 players departed, in a mass overhaul of the squad. Six of the new additions started against Oxford Harlequins.

“It’s hard, with the amount of lads that have come in, but (we) just (need) time together and it will come,” said the head coach.

“We know that we’re always going to be catching up a little bit compared to other years, and (were) probably blessed that we had good synergy over the last years.

“So (we just need) time together, it will come, massively, and today’s a really good stepping stone for the future.”

Fly-half Penfold was appointed as the club’s new head coach in June after Ford stepped up to the role of director of rugby, meaning he was not expecting to feature in the squad this term. But, due to player availability, and without a pre-season, Penfold has had to lace up his boots and returned to the pitch for the Wolfpack.

“I’ve not done any pre-season so, much like last year, I end up playing all the games,” he said.

“I’m just happy to fill in when I can and whatever my role is, week by week, I’ll take it.

“We knew about it (player availability) a couple of weeks (ago). It’s just one of them and for me it’s nice to put the boots back on.”

Bury, who moved up to ninth after yesterday’s victory, will look to chalk up back-to-back wins at Dorking next Saturday (3pm), who have won two of their opening three matches.

“Obviously Dorking away is always a tough ask, but this (win against Oxford Harlequins) will help massively with our positivity around our execution,” said Penfold.

“As I say, the more time we have together, I think we’ll be a really hard team to beat, no matter whether we’re home or away.”