Mid-week games always provide a great opportunity for players to express themselves in a slightly different environment and this Tuesday night game against a Durham University outfit was no exception.
The Raiders were backing up from a hard-fought victory away at Billingham only 3 days earlier, so this was always going to test the resolve and character of the squad. In contrast, Durham University were in pre-season mode so brought a sizeable squad resembling something more akin to American Football, which ultimately told.

The game was played out through a constant downpour which made handling a real challenge for both outfits. Nevertheless both teams tried to play expansive rugby and whilst the final score line was modest the game was entertaining to watch.

In fact, despite both sides having decent phases of play it was always a final pass that went astray or a heavy tackle that stopped the move, meaning the sides turned around for half time still scoreless..

The Raiders started the second half stronger and were rewarded following an incisive Rory Cramb break from halfway from which he off-loaded to the free-running Harry Remnant to go under the posts. Cam Grant knocked over the simple conversion to make it 7-0.

The next 20 minutes saw the Raiders defence tested to the limit as they repelled a series of good attacking play from the University. Eventually, with many sets of fresh legs for the student side, combined with a Tynedale defence, an overlap was exploited and the University scored out wide to make it 7-5 with 10 minutes left to play.
The students were really on the front foot now and with only 5 minutes remaining, Tynedale's defence was thwarted once more following a series of close drives under the posts, 7-12.

In the conditions and with the Raiders out on their feet, a comeback never looked likely and so the game finished 7-12 to the visitors.
This was another closely fought match for the Raiders with a great deal of positives and 'work-ons' to take forward through the season.