EDGED out of the World Cup by New Zealand by just two points, Saturday was not a good day for South Africans.

But one Springbok was the toast of Tynedale Park, after his intervention helped the Blue and Whites secure only their second win of the season to move out of the relegation zone.

In a game riddled with errors, a strangely flat Tynedale were always behind against indifferent opposition, in a game they simply had to win after five successive defeats.

With Preston just one point above them in Division Two (North), failure to win would have cut them adrift.

They seemed to have been thwarted again when replacement Sam Gaff, signed from Westoe in the summer, battered his way over the line close to the post.

Referee Michael Harris, just feet away from the action, ruled that the ball had been held up, but in stepped touch judge Charl Erasmus to indicate he had seen the ball grounded from the touchline - and the try was allowed.

That brought the scores level, but ice-cool Ash Smith made light of the tricky wind conditions to land the conversion to put Tynedale in front for the first time.

They managed to hang on for the remaining few minutes to secure the points, but the win could not disguise that Tynedale’s performance, particularly in the first half, had been pretty poor.

Too many passes went astray, and too many tackles missed as Tynedale struggled to cope with the Lancastrians‘ ponderous play.

They were not helped by the fact that after a couple of encouraging bursts of speed early on, former Rugby League winger with Newcastle Thunder Joe Brown picked up a knock, and hobbled off after half an hour.

Tynedale also lost player coach Andy Buist at the break, the influential lock forward failing to come out for the second half, and they also lost the services of all action flanker Joe Mills, carried off in the second half after being poleaxed by what looked like a nasty injury.

There were plus points though, with lock Jonny Cousin foraging ceaselessly and effectively, and flanker Matty Charters showing what fans have missed since his decision to seek Division One rugby with Darlington Mowden Park at the end of last season.

Dan Marshall showed a remarkable turn of pace on the wing, and the evergreen Peter Southern put in an all action display in the front row, well meriting the warm ovation he received when he went off towards the end.

The line out did not go well, especially after Buist’s departure, with way too many lost on Tynedale‘s own throw.

After defeats against top five teams, fans were cautiously confident but that seemed misplaced in the first half when, with the aid of a stiff breeze, the visitors dominated proceedings.

Tyne were penned in their own 22 for the first five minutes, and even when Brown galloped out of defence to ease the pressure, he promptly lost the ball and the Hoppers were back on the attack.

A good Tynedale scrum came to nothing when number eight Scott Powell fumbled the pick up, leading to a penalty which allowed Preston full back Sean Taylor to give his side the lead.

Another promising Tynedale attack came to the nothing when the ball went to ground on 15 minutes, and another dropped ball on 19 minutes led to a Preston counter attack which saw winger Ollie Viney make a good break, before sending in opposite wing Scott Jordan for the opening try, which was not converted.

Tynedale had a chance to get on the board with a penalty in front of the posts, but Powell‘s attempt to take a quick one backfired, and the final pass was again spilled.

With two minutes of the half left, Preston extended their lead when, from another turnover in midfield, a superb break from Tom Hurst led to a try for scrum half Harrison Moulding, improved by Taylor for a 15-0 lead.

In injury time however, Tynedale finally got it right when they powered through some weak tackling for Smith to touch down for an unconverted try.

A foot in touch denied Marshall a try early in the second half, but they kept up the pressure, which brought a penalty for Smith on 52 minutes.

Soon after, a high tackle by Preston number eight Ally Murray brought him a yellow card, and the balance swung Tynedale’s way.

On the hour, a solid scrum saw Powell feed Marshall, who went in for a good try which Smith was unable to convert, bringing the scores to 15-13.

Another Taylor penalty on 65 minutes pushed the Hoppers lead to five points before the game‘s controversial moment saw Gaff take the ball at speed and crash over the line, surrounded by tacklers.

The referee said no, but then came the Erasmus invention, and the groans of the Tynedale crowd turned to cheers as he changed his mind. That brought the scores level, with the conversion to come, but Smith’s nerve held, and the points were in the bag.

The World Cup final means there is no game for Tynedale on Saturday, their return to action coming a week tomorrow at Broadstreet.