A good show today at Tynedale....eventually.

Blyth won the toss and elected to kick, but in a strange twist, the home team were allowed to choose which way they would attack and unsurprisingly, chose to attack with the wind behind them.

Blyth showed some great promise when they played their own game, which is find the space and pass the ball into it. Tynedale really struggled to deal with it. Unfortunately, after a great start, with a quick try from Eddie Hogg, they reverted to playing in a style more suited to the hosts, running into contact and losing out at the ruck. The lads got away with it at Ponteland for the first 10 minutes, but Tynedale are a different level and punished Blyth, opening up a good lead.
However Blyth kept their heads and began passing the ball out to the space on the wings where Blyth's speedsters, Ethan Irving and Sean Phillipson, were on hand to collect and finish, pulling Blyth right back into the game.
It was unfortunate that the second half was cut short due to the injury to Matty Dryden, as Blyth would have the wind at their backs and the possibility to kick and chase, which the hosts had used to good effect in the first half.
Overall a very positive morning of Rugby, Blyth showed just how dangerous they can be against one of the best sides in the county, but also highlighted their greatest weakness. All good learning.
An excellent show of sportsmanship from Daniel Barker and Leon Wills for playing for Tynedale to make their numbers up.
I can report that after a scan at Cramlington Hospital, Matty Dryden sustained no fractures, but does have soft tissue damage. We wish Matty a speedy recovery and look forward to having him back in the sqaud. Also a huge thanks to Matty the physio at Tynedale, who took such good care of Matty until the ambulance arrived and for checking on his progress throughout the day.
Hopefully we will host Alnwick next Sunday.