Last updated at 17:26, Friday, 10 April 2009

TYNEDALE travel to the Yorkshire Dales on Good Friday to finally play their much-postponed league match at Wharfedale.

Originally frosted off in January, it was rearranged several times, with each alternative rejected because both clubs had players involved with the English Counties set up.

Good Friday was agreeable to both sides, and a good match is in prospect.

The Yorkshiremen have a mixed home record, beating league leaders Birmingham and Solihull and high-flying Launceston, but losing to Tynedale’s opponents of last weekend Stourbridge, and to relegation threatened Westcombe Park on Saturday.

Tynedale hope to welcome back lock forwards Andrew Murray and Eni Gesinde, both of whom missed the win at Stourbridge – only Tynedale’s fourth win on the travels all season.

It is also hoped that backs James Hoyle and Ben Duncan will also be fit for the final run in.

Tynedale have only two games left after this, the most eagerly anticipated being the visit of Birmingham and Solihull a week tomorrow.

Tynedale beat the Bees 28-24 on their own turf in December, the only side to have won at Sharmans Cross Road all season.

They have won every game since then to dislodge Redruth from the top of National League Division Two, which they lead by five points with two games in hand.

They also rattled up a record-breaking victory on Saturday, with the 115-0 blitzkreig of bottom club Waterloo.

It was the highest match score in the division’s history, and full back Mark Woodrow also got the highest ever number of conversions in a match, with 15.

He has already passed the record for the most individual conversions, with 92.

However, Tynedale will be defending the longest winning home run in the entire league, not just the division, with 37 straight victories, and they will be pulling out all the stops to make it 38.

Tynedale’s final league game is at Penzance, where they take on Mounts Bay on April 25.

Before that though, they continue their defence of the Northumberland Senior Cup, when they entertain Morpeth at Tynedale Park on Wednesday in the semi-final.

As has been the custom in recent seasons, Tynedale will field mostly second XV players in the competition, with the game kicking off at 6pm.

Tynedale have three others teams through to county finals: the Raiders who play Morpeth Reivers, at Ashington on April 25, the Veterans who meet Alnwick IV the same day and the Hoppers who meet Medicals U21s at Morpeth the next day.

First published at 09:53, Friday, 10 April 2009
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk