Tynesett blew hot and cold at a sweltering Barmoor in a sometimes fiery season opener.

Tries by Freddie Borini, Tommy Sedgwick, Will Hall and Alfred Stanton were cancelled out by eight scores for a Ryton side whose greater familiarity eventually told against a visiting team making their maiden combined outing.

A generally encouraging first half saw Tynesett lead 15-10, and then go into half-time just 22-15 down.
But two tries in four minutes at the start of the second period saw Ryton put the result to bed, despite the visitors’ refusal to buckle completely.

Ryton opened the scoring after five minutes, sending the ball nicely through the hands and going over down the right flank.
But sharp work from Freddie B at a 14th-minute penalty in the home 22 saw the scrum-half touch down to level the scores.
Very quickly, though, more slick handling across the back-line sent Ryton through for their second try.

But parity was swiftly restored when a good passing move from a quickly taken penalty saw Thomas Wilson set up Tommy S for an excellent try.
Tynesett then went ahead, with a couple of solid attacking phases presenting Will H with a chance to execute a step-and-go which saw him race clear from just inside his own half for a spectacular score.

But when Ryton spread the ball wide right and went over in the corner for a converted try to edge back ahead at 17-15, it was a case of déjà vu all over again.
With or without Logie Bear (Logan Laas), the Tynesett pack continued to compete well at the scrum. But the breakdown was a consistent area of concern.
And it was after one of numerous victorious rucks that Ryton crossed over down their left to guarantee them the half-time lead.
Frustratingly, more passive breakdown work two minutes after the restart saw possession
coughed up for a Ryton pick-and-go and all too simple fifth try.

Then it was easier still for the home side’s kick-off returner to weave through Tynesett’s midfield and go all the way, NFL punt returner style to stretch the lead to 36-15.
At that point, raising the white flag would have been the easy option, but Tynesett’s resolve to hang in there during a scrappy 20 minutes was epitomised when some first-half friction sparked back into life, and they temporarily lost a man to the sin-bin.
But it was back to rucking hell for the visitors after 64 minutes, when a breakdown surrender and more good hands from Ryton saw them extend their advantage.

Back came Tynesett, though, with some good pressure in the hosts’ 22 resulting in a penalty which Alfred S was alert enough to tap quickly and go over under the posts and pull the scoreline back to 41-22.
But the hosts had the final word with a near-identical score from a tap penalty of their own.

There were clear lessons to be learned by Tynesett on a day when both savvy decision making and aggression with ball in hand were too often lacking.
But the spirit shown by a side playing its first competitive game was the day’s ultimate takeaway.