Published at 09:44, Friday, 12 March 2010

Border Park’s run of defeats continued on Saturday against a highly experienced and skilful Blaydon team.

Blaydon 3rd 46,

Border Park 14.

The Kielder team held up well under pressure and managed to deploy as much damaged limitation as the circumstances would allow.

In particular Border's tries were the best of the afternoon and the team can take considerable credit for their dogged defence work.

Border's first try came early in the first half, with a vast sweeping run around the pitch from Mark Findlay from Fourstones, playing his first Border Park game.

It looked effortless but the truth was that Blaydon had no-one able to match Mark's pace as he reached the middle of the posts.

With the conversion Border were in the lead for a good chunk of the first half.

Blaydon relied on their forwards to do most of the work, and their score represents strong multi-phased forward work.

Border was able to hold this off in the first half, and the scrums were evenly balanced, but Blaydon had the clear edge in line-outs despite the best efforts of Border's Stephen Armstrong.

Towards the end of the first half, Border's pensioner prop, Tom Richards, was put out of the game with a chest injury, and the scrums had to go uncontested thereafter.

This had the merit of giving Border's young backs a more involved game off the set pieces than they are used to, and they made the most of it.

Iain Riddle had several leaps around the park, James Davidson had a good game and the somewhat older Rory Self ran through all his opportunities as well as converting both tries.

In the forwards, Karl Main did what he could to keep Blaydon occupied.

As the second half wore on Blaydon's fitness started to decline and it fell to Border's David Howe to score a storming try through the middle of the pack.

He encountered little resistance, his side step around the last line of Blaydon's plodding defence was little more than a cheeky gesture.

Captain Geoff Sloan rightly decided to play the full 80 minute game despite the referee's hint that he would be prepared to bring proceedings to an early halt.

Ultimately this was not a game that Border could win, injuries and players out of position will always be outclassed by a fully crewed home team.

But it was a worthwhile game of rugby, played in the spirit of the game and was an encounter that showed some future promise from Border's young backs.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk