Any remaining memories of last year's final failure were well and truly forgotten when the game was brought to a close last Saturday at a sun-dried Percy Park. Tynedale scored two tries to one against a stubborn and hard working Berwick team.
It was the Scots who got off to a flier. A Tynedale kick-off against the wind was returned with interest by the impressive Berwick fly-half. The ball bobbled around in the Tynedale 22, full-back Sam Stevenson cleared safely into touch. The Berwick lineout was won and their pack drove the blue and whites back towards their line. Tynedale were penalised for illegal play and Berwick opted to kick for touch and again drive the lineout. Tynedale had seemed to withstand this pressure, with the Berwick pack going backwards at the lineout, the ball dropped out of the maul, was picked up by the Scottish scrum-half, flung wide to the Berwick fullback who sprinted into the corner passed flailing Tynedale defence, to open the scoring, much to the delight of the travelling partisan Berwick crowd.
The conversion was dramatically wide and Tynedale felt they were in a game. The two sides had met just a matter of weeks ago, where Tynedale eased to victory. In a game that had too many clichés to mention when talking about finals, Tynedale did look scrappy, inefficient and extremely frantic.
These misfortunes were dashed minutes later when Tynedale earned a lineout on the Berwick twenty-two. Hooker Gledson floated the ball to the back of the line, taken well by Brad Hall who dropped it down to scrum-half Thomas Dodds, onto Guy Rundle who gave a short pass to Stewie Wetherstone who exploded through the Berwick defences like a Tomahawk missile, he wrong footed the fullback and won the race to score under the posts, giving the following Tynedale support something to shout about. Reliable Rundle miscued the conversion and the scores stayed level.
Tynedale seemed very much in control now, they were passing the ball about with newly found confidence. A handling error brought an end to an extremely promising attack, and the chance seemed to be over. The Tynedale pack decided to simply descimate the Berwick pack and pinch the ball against the head. No8 Jamie Holland picked the ball at the back of the pack and drove towards the line the Tynedale pack recycled, Dodds flung it to Rundle then back inside to tight head Tony Gradwell and again to hooker Gledson who broke two tackles before being stopped just metres short. A try looked on when the next drive went through Andrew Ions, but the referee decided the support reclaimed the ball illegally and gave a penalty to the flailing Berwick team.
Tynedale seemed to take their foot off the gas and let the opposition weave their way in front with a well-struck penalty five minutes shy of the break. It had been a frustrating first half for the Tynedale side, for whom after a slow start to the season have now won 13 out of their last 15 games, including victories at Hawick, Harrogate, and Peebles. Tynedale attacked with the wind in the second period, and they set out their intentions with early dynamic running from there three quarters. The Tynedale back row were now starting to dominate the midfield and half break by Holland looked promising, but his pass wide to Robert Sedgwick was read well by the testosterone pumped Berwick blind-side flanker and the ground shook as the two collided, the game was stopped temporarily while the two recovered.
Tynedale continued their dominance and this resulted in a Rundle penalty to tie the scores at eight a piece. Although the score was tight, it looked as though the blue and whites had more in their locker, and that the time would come. However, the persistent diagonal kicking from the Berwick back line, continually forced the Tynedale team to build any attacking play from deep in their own half. A heart-in-the-mouth moment occurred when it looked as though Tynedale had secured possession on their own line, a knock-on gave Berwick an attacking scrum with about twenty minutes to go. The Tynedale tight five again proved their prowess by pushing the Scots back and taking the scrum against the head, and cleared.
The winning try followed. After fierce rucking from flankers Graham Lindup and Jimmy Scott, a wide pass from Michael Murray led to a half break from captain Ross Gray led to an offloaded pass to fullback Stevenson who barged over his opposite number to score in the corner and put Tynedale ahead for the first time.
In the final minutes, Berwick rallied, they put in a series of punishing runs, met by similarly harsh Tynedale tackling. The whistle soon blew and Tynedale had won their first Colts Cup since 1983.
The coaching team of Steve Dunn, Gary Taylor and Graham Sinclair, under the eagle-eyed guidance of the Colt's godfathers' John Clark and Jim Bell have been a vital cog in the wheel of the team's successes this season. The partying went on long into the night. I'd just like to tell the backs that they should have kept awake longer to see the front row lads keepin' it real on the dancefloor.
TYNEDALE COLTS SQUAD:-
S STEVENSON, R SEDGWICK, R FINLAY, S WETHERSTONE, R GRAY (C) G RUNDLE, T DODDS, T GRADWELL, R GLEDSON, A IONS, B HALL, M MURRAY, J SCOTT, G LINDUP, J HOLLAND. SUBS; M RAMSEY, C HALL, P LISHMAN, D LOWDEN, A LITTLE, W NATRASS, J WETHERLY.