Visser victorious against boys from Black Country
Last updated at 09:46, Friday, 05 December 2008
Tynedale 24, Stourbridge 15THE temperature gauge read -3C when a chilled crowd crunched their way across the icebound car park at Tynedale Rugby Club on Saturday afternoon.
The usual ankle-deep muddy puddles had been replaced by sheets of pack ice, but there was still a warm glow as Tynedale’s seemingly endless series of home victories stretched into its 29th month.
It was their 32nd consecutive home win in the league, and their 150th from 199 home games since league rugby was introduced in September 1987.
Tom Borthwick's buccaneers did it the hard way against a very talented Stourbridge side, who came as close as anyone to breaching the walls of Fortress Tynedale.
But for a couple of crucial knock-ons, and two penalties which hit the post, the boys from the Black Country could have sneaked this one.
They dominated the first half for long periods, and produced the sort of recycling that Tynedale Council’s director of environmental services Ian Douglas would, from the depths of his sporran, love to be able to produce.
However, like so many sides before them, their inventive attacking foundered on the solid rocks of the Tynedale defence, where tackle after tackle thundered in to telling effect.
Tynedale tried to make it easy for them, by playing a quarter of the game with only 14 men, as they picked up two more yellow cards to add to far and away the biggest collection in the league.
Referee Andy Taylorson travelled up from Preston with a reputation of being something of a card sharp, but in truth, it could easily have been more as several individuals chose to see how far they could push him.
For a long moment, it seemed the peerless Andrew Murray might be going off for more than 10 minutes after appearing to swing a retaliatory punch, but Mr Taylorson contented himself with a lecture longer than a Philadelphia filibuster.
Despite his leniency on that occasion, Mr Taylorson did not endear himself to the surprisingly large and vocal crowd with some of his decisions, particularly when he missed a couple of Stourbridge knock-ons which could easily have led to tries.
However, had it not been for the Lancastrian, there would have been no game at all.
There were doubts about the game until 10 minutes before the kick-off, as a savage frost and freezing fog had wreathed the ground in a cloak of white.
The watery November sun cleared three-quarters of the pitch, but the other quarter, in the shadow of the stand, remained stubbornly frostbound.
Mr Taylorson left it to the last possible minute before giving the game the green light, which must have come as a relief to the Stourbridge players and their small contingent of fans, who had come by car rather than the traditional bus.
It turned out to be a bostin' decision, for at times, the quality of rugby was very high indeed from both sides.
For once, there was not a breath of wind at Corbridge, so the ball could be thrown about without allowing for the breeze.
And thrown about it was, and while the chill factor meant it was often dropped, and the crowd was heartily sick of Mr Taylorson's Acme Thunderer, there was much to keep cold hands warm.
Tynedale should have gone behind in the opening minute, when they conceded a penalty, which was taken instantly by scrum half Tom Richardson.
The Tynedale defence was nowhere, and Stourbridge had a two-man overlap just 10 metres from the line. The pass went out straight and true, but somehow, Rupert Cooper managed to knock-on with the line at his mercy.
Tynedale were scarcely able to believe their good fortune, and when they were awarded a penalty on six minutes, their number nine Ross Samson shot away like a bullet from a Kalashnikov.
Jamie Murray was in support, and there were groans when he ignored an overlap to cut inside.
Happily, the ball was recycled again, and there was winger James Hoyle, almost walking over the line for the opening try.
Gavin Beasley added the extras from wide out, and Tynedale were off and running.
Try maker Samson was the villain of the piece on nine minutes, when he knocked the ball out of an opponent’s hands to prevent another quick penalty.
He was given 10 minutes in the sin bin to consider the wisdom of that choice, but luck favoured Tynedale again, as full-back Oliver Grove’s penalty came back off the post.
The Tynedale line was put under considerable pressure, but some excellent tackling by the 14 survivors kept Stourbridge at bay, until Samson was standing on the touchline waiting to come back on.
It was at that point that Stourbridge finally forced their way through the middle, and Cooper made up for his earlier fumble by going over the try, which was not converted.
Tynedale were forced into long spells on the defensive.They should have had relief when they were finally awarded a penalty, but more stupid backchat saw the kick reversed – and again Grove's kick came back off the post on 28 minutes.
Tynedale had hardly been in the Stourbridge 22, but on 38 minutes, they produced some superb handling, which ended with Tim Visser, on loan from Newcastle Falcons, powering over for Tynedale's second try.
The big Dutchman almost had another moments later, following good work by Peter Cole, but he just failed to stretch over.
Hoyle was almost in for his second try at the start of the second half, but it was Stourbridge who were next to score, Jon Higgins putting over a penalty to make it 12-8.
Tynedale again went down to 14 men when Joe Graham was carded for sticking his hand into a ruck, and again Tynedale had to withstand some heavy pressure, but did so in style.
Having weathered the storm, Tynedale came back well, and after Ben Duncan had gone close, Visser roared in for his second try after more top notch handling.
Other Tynedale opportunities went begging before Hoyle made sure Tynedale got the bonus point with his second try two minutes into added-on time, well converted by Beasley.
There was still time for Stourbridge to have the last word, a superb cross-kick by Higgins finding winger Martin Freeman, who bludgeoned his way over for a try, converted from the touchline by Higgins.
Visser was the Tynedale man of the match – a remarkable achievement by a man who played for the Falcons in their crunch match with London Wasps less than 24 hours earlier.
However, he must have been run close by fellow double scorer Hoyle, and particularly prop Rupert Harden, who had another immense game.
First published at 13:12, Thursday, 04 December 2008
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk
