Tynedale Colts, sponsored by Arnold Clark, lined up on the pitch alongside the Raiders, Grasshoppers & Veterans squads to pay their respects to Edward Robson who sadly passed away earlier this week.
This week's opponents were Kelso Harlequins, who were flying high following their victory last week at the home of last season's league winners Hawick Wanderers. Tynedale kicked off with a strong wind at their backs & early pressure saw Kelso pinned into their own third of the field unable to breakout. This pressure paid off when after 8 minutes, Gus White charged down an attempted clearance from the 'Quins defence and reacted quickest to gather and touchdown the loose ball and give Tynedale a 5-0 lead.
The following moments saw some good work from Kelso, who gradually worked their way slowly up-field and their pressure was too much in the end and saw Tynedale give away a penalty 25 yards out & to the left of the posts. This should not have been a worry with a strong wind blowing down the pitch but the quality of the Kelso goal kicker was more than a match for the conditions & he slotted the ball sweetly through the uprights.
Tynedale never really tested the 'Quins defence under a high, swirling ball but opted instead for forward pressure & camped out within the Kelso 22'. Some fantastic rucking & driving from Gus White, Joe Northwood, Ben Ridley and "The Two Dave's" - Batey & Watchorn almost paid dividends but the opposition defence soaked up all the Tynedale forwards could throw at them.
As the half neared its end the 'Quins broke out & threatened to extend their lead, again Tynedale's defence held strong with great work from Louis Frankland & Curtis Hood alongside Matt Williams & Rory Dixon but once more lack of discipline saw the Tyne defence penalised for a second time in virtually the same area as earlier. With the last kick of the half successful, Kelso were now 6-5 in front with the wind advantage to come.
Quins only took 2 minutes from the Kick off to capitalise on this advantage & scored a text book try following some great handling from one side of the pitch the other. Another successful conversion gave the visitors a lead of 13 - 5. Tyne never gave up & strong running from Adam Telfer, Jareth Main & Will Brown saw the home side making progress up-field. A neat offload from Ryan Potts following a powerful run into the corner of the field to put Richie Moreland over the line to score only to see the touch-judge's flag raised to disallow it.
Tynedale fought hard, but unfortunately time ran out for the boys in blue who, in hindsight, maybe wished that more advantage was made of the strong wind of the first half but there were many positives from the game and many new players still to get their chance.
Special Mention to Gus White whose performance today earned him the "Man of the Match" & to Jareth Main for "THAT" tackle!!
Apologies to Mark B, James R, Billy S, Dan N, Leon Q & Calum Y who didn't get a run-out today but thank you for being there.