Blyth 7’s team were in fine spirts as they warmed up as they warmed up , with the prospect of playing local rivals Whitley Bay Rockcliffe ,who were fielding 2 teams, Northern and the Cumbrian side Egremont who beat Blyth in the opening game at the Tynedale festival.
First game up was Rockcliffe “B”. Blyth took to the pitch with Captain Josh Dixon asking for controlled aggression.
Blyth started slowly with handling errors from all involved it was a very scrappy first couple of minutes, Until Blyth found their composure and started to find space to pass the ball around.
Rockcliffe show signs of nervousness as starting forwards Luke G Owen W and Finlay G showed Rockcliffe no respect, hitting their tackles hard and scrapping for every ball and soaking up the pressure and Josh Dixon commanding his backs, his movement and range of passing creating space for Kieran W to score the first try of the match.
With Kieran A full of running and nailing his tackles and Ryan H scoring his tries with his trademark turn of speed and big tackles, Rockcliffe had no answer to Blyth’s hard tackling free running game, as they ran out 20-0 winners

Blyth 25 -5 WB Rockcliffe “ A”
Blyth started on the front foot as they hit Rockcliffe hard and fast, Rockcliffe socked up the early pressure and started to hit back, Blyth forwards upped their work rate chasing every ball and with captain Josh D passing the ball around Blyth backs were soon creating havoc.
Plays of the match were Josh D 2 outlandish off loads on the Rockcliffe try line allowing both Owen w and later on James “Dave” Nelson to score in the corner.
Forward Luke G’s powerful run side stepping 3 Rockcliffe players to off load to Owen W who took the contact as he off loaded to Ryan H who took the ball at speed to score.
Best defensive play was a team effort,Rockcliffe look a sure bet to score as they crossed the try line Luke G wrestled for the ball as Blyth rallied around to stop him going to ground and killing the play. Blyth continued to push with all the backs running at Rockcliffe and stepping up to hit their tackles, while the forwards scrapped for every loose ball. Kieran A scoring a fine try from deep in his own half and Luke G with the last play of the match receiving the ball from Josh D to sprint clear of the Rockcliffe defence to walk the ball over the try line and place the ball as the final whistle blew.
Blyth 0-20 Northern
Blyth started slowly as a well drilled Northern side scored three tries early in the match, to add insult to injury Blyth lost the influential Kieran W to an elbow injury, giving new lad Liam M an early chance to have run at the Northern defence. Northern continued to attack but Blyth kept their shape and composure continuing to tackle hard and ask questions of the northern defence but were unable to find space, Northerns inability to kill off the game and Blyth’s resolve showed as northern started to lose their cool as the final whistle approached.
Blyth 25-10 Egremont
With both teams looking to land second place and finish the day on a high.
Blyth started well with the starting 7 all hitting their tackles and defending well during the opening skirmishes, Blyth were soon passing the ball around with Josh D leading by example his backs Kieran A Liam M and Ryan H soon found space and put points on the board, while Forwards 0wen w Connor L and Finlay G fighting for every ball held there lines well against a spirted Egremont attack, who did manage to score 2 tries, But with Ryan H and keiran A chasing down anyone and everyone who did breach Blyth forwards Egremont were soon losing ground to Blyths relentless drives and runs and soon had control of the match, stand out moments were watching Finlay G take his place in a line out and trying to stare down Egremont giant No8 and then later on taking him out with a well-timed tackle, With the clock running down Blyth show Egremont very little respect as they pinged the ball around from one wing to the other and toyed with them looking for the right moment to score.
Blyth were worthy winners, in what became a feisty game in the last few minutes, with all the players showing great composure and sportsmanship throughout all of today’s games.

With second place secured the Blyth u14’s 7’s team walked off the pitch to the cheers and applause from the travelling supporters. As a team these young men, ran hard and tackled harder , stood shoulder to shoulder playing some of the best passing rugby on the day.
Well done lads