Raiders made the perfect start to the new campaign by securing the maximum five available points in a hard-fought encounter at Boro's Acklam Park home. Six members of the Tynedale 2's squad made their competitive debuts in open age rugby, having graduated from last year's Colts, and their impact was immediate and impressive.

Two of those youngsters gave Raiders a ten-point early lead, with Noah Fleming and Nathan Abrams both running in tries on the back of strong carries from the Tynedale pack. The first 20 minutes belonged to the blue & whites but then Wasps unleashed a sting of their own with a dominant spell of play that delivered two tries and a sudden 12-10 lead.

Raiders dug deep, with captain Jacob Brown leading by example in defence to stifle the home side and provide a platform for attack. Tyne closed out the half with three further tries, scored by Henry Aitkenhead, Charlie Richards, and a second from Fleming, with Fleming also adding the extras on each occasion. Half-time: 12-31.

After the break, Tynedale quickly extended their lead with a second Abrams try, before a thirty-minute display of dogged defence showcased the determination of both sides to come out on top. It was Tynedale who eventually broke the deadlock, with late tries from rock-solid loose-head Mike Hughes and finally debutant tight-head Ben Potts, capping a powerful performance from himself, and a memorable day all-round for Raiders' youngsters. Full-time: 12-46.

Tries:
Fleming (2), Abrams (2), Aitkenhead, Richards, Hughes, Potts

Conversions:
Fleming (3)

Team
15) J.Ferguson, 14) W. Jonas, 13) A. Murray, 12) O. Hillary, 11) N. Abrams, 10) N. Fleming, 9) N. da Silva
1) M. Hughes, 2) O. Shield, 3) B. Potts, 4) R. Dunn, 5) C. Richards, 6) B. Blackburn, 7) H Aitkenhead, 8) J. Brown (C)
16) R. Craney, 17) B. Harris, 18) , R. Earnshaw, 19) J. Binovec, 20) D. Heppell

Ian Hiles

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