PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS 37
TYNEDALE 42
TRAILING by 23 points early in the second half, Tynedale seemed doomed to defeat in deepest Lancashire on Saturday.
A colour clash saw then playing in unfamiliar pink shirts, and their normally watertight defence had leaked 37 points.
They were also without the commanding presence of tough tackling co-skipper Will Miller from the back division.
But a stunning 20-minute turnaround saw the visitors pick themselves up from the Lightfoot Green Astroturf to score 28 unanswered points, and walk away with maximum points.
In the absence of Miller, regular full-back Cam Grant stepped into the inside centre role, and had his usual effective game, landing five conversions, and hitting the post with a late penalty which would have made the win even more emphatic.
Oli Walker donned the 15 shirt, but joined the line to his usual deadly effect, and was among the Tynedale try scorers.
Tynedale are fortunate to have two first-class fly halves in Josh Leslie and Jake Rodgers, and on this occasion, it was Rodgers who took the field, scoring the 63rd minute try that finally nudged Tynedale in front after trailing for the whole game.
After the appalling weather conditions in their last couple of games, Tynedale were pleased to be spared the mud by the Lightfoot Green plastic pitch, which at least gave the backs a chance to show what they can do given the chance.
That being said, the forwards did more than their bit to earn victory, with number eight Charlie Richards scoring a brace of tries, and the pack also earning a penalty try.
The Hoppers got off to an excellent start, with full-back Sam Freeman opening their account with two penalties inside the opening 13 minutes.
Alarm bells were ringing for Tynedale on 15 minutes, when the Hoppers put together a dazzling move which ended with right wing Jacon Browne touching down for the opening try, which Freeman converted for a 13-0 lead.
Tynedale managed to get on the scoresheet when Richards forced his way over on 17 minutes for Grant to convert, but the respite was only temporary, as Freeman landed his third penalty on 15 minutes for a 16-7 lead.
Back came Tynedale with a fine converted try from scrum-half James Telford on 27 minutes, but there was soon clear water between the sides once more when centre Sammy Russell and scrum-half Alex Ward went over in quick succession to give the Hoppers a 30-14 lead at the break.
Things looked bleak for Tynedale three minutes into the second half, when flanker Harry Holden secured the four-try bonus point, and Freeman’s conversion stretched the score to a seemingly impregnable 37-14 lead.
With veteran lock Graeme Dunn in the sin bin, few gave Tynedale much chance of salvaging the game, but the visitors are made of stern stuff.
The fightback began with Walker touching down virtually from the restart, Grant converting, and on 50 minutes, Richards bagged his second score, the conversion taking it to 37-28.
The beleaguered Hoppers defence were pressured into giving away a penalty try on 55 minutes to reduce the gap to just two points, at which point the Lancastrians also lost try scorer Russell to the sin bin.
Rodgers completed the comeback with his try on 63 minutes for Grant to add the extras for a 42-37 scoreline.
There were still 17 minutes left on the clock in this amazing points fest, but the scoreboard remained unchanged at the final whistle, Grant’s penalty that hit the post being the nearest to a score.
The win leaves Tynedale in third spot in National League Division Two North, four points behind second-placed Macclesfield, who come to Tynedale Park on March 14th.
Tynedale will be hoping to strengthen their position further on Saturday, when sixth-placed Fylde are the visitors to Corbridge.
Tynedale won the reverse fixture at Lytham St Annes back in October by a narrow 24-19 margin, so a close game is expected. Kick-off is at 2pm.
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