For the 5th consecutive year Tynedale Veterans reached the final of the not so aptly named Northumberland "Junior" Shield. A comprehensive victory over a much younger Novos "3rd" XV gives the old men of Tynedale the chance, in 2 weeks time, to regain the trophy they last won in 2006.
With a squad of 22 the Veterans arrived at Longbenton to be greeted by the home side warming up very much against the spirit of the competition. Following a traditional Veterans warm up (a gentle jog from the changing room to the pitch) Tyne made their customary slow start & allowed the home side to score 2 tries to move into a 10 point lead after 15 minutes. A further long-range penalty took the score to 13-0. However after a series of strong forward drives Andy Neal used all his athleticism to stretch over the line for Tyne's first try which went unconverted. Tyne then got on the score sheet again this time in the shape of the much travelled Steve Turnbull who after several attempts muscled his way over the line followed by a conversion by Dan Gray. A loose pass allowed Novos to score another converted try to make the half-time score 18-10 to the home side.
The second half brought a raft of changes to the line-up. Charlie Burns assumed wing duty from Steve Beadle, Andy Neal took a well deserved rest to be replaced by the ageless Marcus Davison, Steve Turnbull made way for Colin MacDonald, Henry Wilkie-Smith filled the ample boots of Ian Charlton, John Laws was replaced in the second row by Andrew Foster & Ralph Charlton took over from Tim Ellis. From the re-start Tyne stepped up a gear to confound the difference in the average ages of the teams. First a break from a line-out on the Novos 22 by Dan Gray led to a try for the Slaley Hall health club manager which he duly converted.
Tremendous running, off-loading & support play combined to turn the half- time deficit into a 31-18 advantage 20 minutes into the second half. Tries from Scott Ferguson & John Fletcher converted by Dan Gray gave the Veterans the confidence to produce some "Pomagne" rugby & following a strong mazy run by Ian Graham, Scott Ferguson powered over for a second try again converted by Gray. A further change saw John Standish slot in to allow Rodney Wallace time to recover from a solid afternoon's work.
Following a Scott Ferguson "special" tackle the ball was moved to captain Craig Johnston who stretched his legs to run 30 metres to touch down & take the Vet's tally to 45. Tyne's final score of the afternoon came from another good handling move which saw the ball passed out along the line to Charlie Burns who scorched 40 meters to score in the corner. The conversion was missed but by now the game was won & this signalled the time for the last & most experienced replacement, Ian Lewis, to replace captain Craig Johnston at scrum-half. Completely un-related but with the final play of the game Novos took a scrum and slipped a tackle or two to score under the posts to bring the final score to 50-25. The opponents for the final are Percy Park Marauders who beat Ponteland Vets 43-34, venue tbc.
30 April, 2008