Tynedale travelled with arguably their strongest possible side for this cup quarter final. This was only the second time in two years that they faced another veterans side and the occasion was complete when the referee introduced himself, a veteran of senior status who wrote the scores down in his pension book. To be fair to him he applied the laws without favour to either side, the only problem being none of the players were quite sure which laws he was applying. The old saying "you have to adapt to the ref" should be re-written for this occasion to "the ref is adapting to suit the moment" But we should never lose sight of the fact that we can't play without a ref so we are glad that he got day release from the old folks home. The first challenge of the day came not from the opposition but from the dressing room, or rather cupboard, nineteen men in a five a side changing room is good for the team bonding but little else.
Tynedale kicked off and it was very apparent that the Pont forwards were a big bunch of lads. The ball was taken by the most rotund of them all, 26 stone Steve Bell, former club captain and stalwart, who managed to get two yards before being thumped by a very lively back row of Graham Yates, Ian Charlton and Colin MacDonald. After a couple of short balls to props Angus Whitelaw and Derek Dixon the ball was spun wide where Richard Cramb controlled his back line superbly. A slick handling move saw full back Scott Ferguson score the opening try, who immediately sent word to the bar to start filling the jug. Simon Clayton-Hibbott who had his best kicking day since being self appointed in the duty converted the try. The re-start was taken by second row Richard Jones, who before the game had expressed reservations over his fitness having just come through major keyhole surgery in November. His recuperation included a weeks skiing for which he took his anaesthetist with his "secret pills" along. One pill was enough for him to confirm that they probably weren't legal so he opted for liquid pain relief instead, allegedly. So with pills back in their controlled substance locker he rampaged up field off-loading the ball to second row partner Fergus Mitchell. Now anyone who hasn't seen Fergus in form is missing a treat, unless you're stood in front of him. A snowplough with legs is the best description I can think of, he simply grinds a channel along route 1 and was rewarded for his efforts with the games second try, again converted by Stan Hibbott (he's here all week).
The one way traffic continued for the third try which saw a series of fancy backs moves involving Rod Wallace and Craig Johnson in the centre and Phil Oakenfold and Graeme Dodds on the wings. With miss double dummy scissor loops being shouted somehow the ball found itself over the try line in the hands of Johnson, Hibbott converting. And then the heads went. Confidence overflowed and for the next twenty minutes Ponteland made all the running. However this Tynedale side is starting to work for each other and the defence was every bit as determined as the attacks, even Holy Richard Cramb was volunteering hard tackles, however special mention must go to Hibbott, who was a fearless as ever in the tackles, Wallace and Ferguson who once again let nothing through. Indeed Wallace is enjoying his best form in many a year no doubt spurred on by Scotty who has always been his mentor from those heady first team days. As Pont applied the pressure the penalty count against Tyne increased and a successful kick saw the half time score at 21-3.
Jonny Mainwaring replaced MacDonald for the second half but it was still Pont making the ground and the Tyne discipline started to creak, leading to a yellow card for hooker Richard Parker, only the sides second in two years and both attributed to the abrasive hooker. A pack re-shuffle saw Charlton replaced by John Eustace and Hibbott, who had taken a couple of heavy knocks, replaced by Ian Lewis whilst in the backs Johnson made way for Andy Purvis. Despite having a front row the ref decided whilst RP2 was doing his time the scrums would be unopposed. During this period Pont finally broke the Vets line to take the score to 21-8 however normal service was resumed shortly after and Cramb went into second gear ghosting his way through gaps to release his backs with further tries from Ferguson, Dodds and Yates, who completed the scoring by converting his own try. Pont snuck in for a final try at the final whistle but the day belonged to Tynedale. Back in the dressing cupboard a jug of beer arrived which was a little odd, as no one had scored a hatrick this week, maybe it was provided by someone with a guilty conscience. The power of the press!
The Vets next game is the semi final on March 4th followed by a day trip to Wharfedale on March 18th, a bus will be provided. Anyone wishing to go please contact John Eustace or Ian Lewis via the club.