TYNEDALE returned from their longest away day of the season with only a solitary bonus point for their somewhat lacklustre efforts.

They were probably the better team on the day, but the Herefordshire side, still not out of relegation trouble, seemed to want the win more.

Tynedale broke their journey from Northumberland with an overnight stop at Dudley in the West Midlands, where former Rector of Hexham the Right Rev. Graham Usher is now the suffragan bishop, but there was no divine intervention to steer Tynedale to victory.

Tynedale were always in the hunt, but injuries and yellow cards at key moments took their toll on a glorious spring day.

Skipper Matty Outson led from the front, always in the thick of the action with his quick thinking and ferocious tackling, and as ever, number eight Scott Powell was outstanding at the base of the scrum.

He picked up the first yellow card at the end of the first half, but could count himself unlucky to be chosen as scapegoat for a concerted effort to pull a maul down.

Also sent to the sin bin in the second half was centre Will Miller, for putting in a high tackle. Tynedale also lost free scoring winger Oli Walker to injury towards the end of the first half, with centre and try scorer Jack Harrison also going off with bruising early in the second half.

Replacement hooker Jamie Blamire always looks dangerous when he comes on, but the England U20 star lasted barely 10 minutes before going off with a bloodied nose. On the plus side, there was a storming performance from Ben Bell in the back row, and a very promising debut from 18-year-old Tristan Grant at tight head prop.

Tynedale were without the exciting Rob Parker and the dependable Jonny Cousin, but welcomed back James Spencer on the wing and Harry Snowdon into the back row.

Tynedale made their usual fine start, trapping Luctonians in their own 22 for the first 10 minutes, and were eventually rewarded with an unconverted try by Jack Harrison in the ninth minute.

Roared on by a decent crowd, Luctonians came back strongly, and good work by centre Frank Kelly brought an equalising try for winger Adam Knight, Johnny Morris adding the extras to make it 7-5 to the home side.

Tynedale were now under some pressure and, following the yellow card to Powell, Luctonians extended their lead with a try by hooker Guy Kirkby from a driving maul to make it 12-5.

Tynedale fought back well though, and straight from the restart, Harrison cruised in for his second try, converted by Ash Smith to make it all square at the break.

Again, it was Tynedale who made the better start after half time with Outson pushing his men forward with some astute kicking and well-judged passes. From his kick-through, Spencer celebrated his return to the side with a fine try to take the score to 17-12 on 46 minutes.

Then came Miller’s yellow card, and Luctonians used their extra man to good advantage as excellent work from Kelly and Will Burton sent in lock Dan Smith for the try on the hour.

Morris converted to put Luctonians two points in front, and hampered by injuries, Tynedale were unable to prevent the elusive Morris scoring the bonus point try, which he converted himself on 76 minutes.

Tynedale have their penultimate home game on Saturday when struggling Sheffield Tigers are the visitors to Tynedale Park.

A win at home to Hickley on Saturday has given the Tigers hopes of beating the drop, and a big Yorkshire crowd is expected to cheer them on in a game which kicks off at 3pm.