Published at 09:44, Friday, 12 March 2010

Tynedale went to sunny North Shields on Sunday in defence of the Northumberland Colts Cup they have won for the last two years.

The conditions were ideal, although the pitch could have passed as a Flanders trench in 1916.

This favoured the home side as they started applying the pressure from the kick-off, scrummaging very well and driving the Tynedale pack backwards at will.

This was unknown territory for the Tynedale forwards who have been dominant in the tight all season.

With only four minutes on the clock, Shields recycled the ball quickly and distributed it into the hands of their wide man who touched-down unopposed in the far right hand side.

The conversion was unsuccessful.

From the kick-off ,Tynedale applied pressure of their own with some thundering runs from Sam White, Fridge Raine and the sprightly old man Rich Ridley.

A penalty for an infringement at the scrum gave Rory Dixon a penalty chance from almost 40 yards, and the ball sailed nicely between the uprights.

Again and again, Shields threatened the Tyne try-line and after soaking up all the pressure it looked like a reprieve was on the cards when the ball was flipped up to Mattmatt Williams to clear the danger.

The Shields flanker whose pace was reminiscent of Usain Bolt‘s –or maybe he was just a tad off-side – charged the resulting kick down, the ball was touched down and the try was awarded.

This time the conversion was successful and Tynedale trailed 12-3.

Michael Cunningham saw a yellow card for a “professional” foul and things were not looking good for the Blue & Whites.

Three more times the Shields forwards crossed the Tynedale try-line and on all three occasions, the fantastic efforts of the Tynedale defence held up the potential scorer.

The half-time whistle was a welcome relief but with the visitors trailing and having significantly less than their usual share of possession the second half would be a hard slog.

The second half started with a more determined effort from the Corbridge team, we were now starting to dominate the scrum with Jofess Northwood taking many against the head.

With this renewed vigour, Tynedale forced Shields into another error in a central position and they were punished by the ever dependable boot of Rory Dixon to bring Tyne to within one score.

What followed was a fast and frantic 20 minutes of end to end rugby, both sides looking dangerous on the attack and clinically solid in defence.

As the time ticked away, it was looking more likely that it was not going to be Tynedale’s cup for a third consecutive year.

Some superb driving phase-play by the Tynedale pack got Rich Ridley within feet of the try-line only to be stopped short by sheer numbers of defenders.

The ball was quickly recycled to Mattmatt Williams who lunged for the line to score.

With the clock ticking closer to the final minutes, a successful kick at goal was required to take the lead.

It was a pressure kick if ever there was one, but up stepped Rory Dixon again, as cool as a penguin in sunglasses, to put his team- into the lead for the first time in the game.

The three minutes left to play seemed to go forever before the referee blew up for full time.

This was a fantastic spectacle of Youth rugby at its best and a real pleasure to watch.

Man of the match was Ross Keady for his excellent performance, decision making and solid defence against a very determined and well drilled opposition.

Tynedale’s reward is a semi-final place against the winners of the Morpeth V Berwick fixture due to be played tomorrow.

Tynedale travel to Galashiels tomorrow for an outstanding league fixture.

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