TYNEDALE 59
CHESTER 12
THE Tynedale faithful were looking at this fixture on Saturday with some trepidation, and it’s easy to see why.
The previous week, visitors Chester had beaten high-flying Darlington Mowden Park 25-21 – the same Darlington outfit which had destroyed Tynedale 55-12 in the first home game of the season.
Chester had won on four of their previous seven visits to Tynedale Park, and it was also the day of the annual past players’ lunch, when Tynedale traditionally play badly.
It was also a drizzly day with a slippery ball, and Tynedale were still without ace scrum-half James Telfer, with stand-off Josh Leslie donning the number nine shirt.
Incredibly, the omens were all wide of the mark, as Tynedale produced comfortably their best display of the season in an eight try demolition of a visiting side left flatter than the Cheshire Plain.
The key was the line-out, which has been patchy at best this season, but on Saturday it all came gloriously together, with Tynedale winning all their own line-outs and a goodly proportion of Chester’s.
The forwards were unstoppable and the tackling magnificent all afternoon.
The four-try bonus point was in the bag after just 20 minutes, as Tynedale climbed to a season’s high of third place in National League Division Two North.
It was another wonderful day for elegant full-back Cam Grant, who landed all nine of his pots at goal – eight conversions and a penalty – and some of them were uncomfortably close to touch.
There were two tries apiece for hooker Charlie Smith and right wing Jack Appleton, but there were blue and white heroes all over the pitch, from high flying line-out jumpers Will Nankivell and Joe Hanning, the inventive half-back partnership of Leslie and Ted Fletcher and the scything tackles of just about everyone else.
Tynedale went ahead after just two minutes when a Ted Fletcher penalty found touch five metres out and the polished catch and drive ended with Smith touching down. Grant’s conversion from wide out set the tone for what was to come.
Rattray is known for his ferocious tackling, but he produced a blazing burst of speed on 11 minutes for the second try, and another perfectly executed line-out catch and drive six minutes took fellow flanker Tom Campbell over for number three.
The Chester coach was already telling all his subs to warm up, but things got worse on 20 minutes when a sweeping handling movement sent centre Jimmy Lythgoe cruising in for the bonus point and a 28-0 lead.
Chester had hardly set foot beyond the halfway line, and when they finally did put some moves together, they were mercilessly cut down by a wall of blue and white.
It wasn’t until the 33rd minute Chester found a way through, flanker Dave Jones rounding off a forward drive, and fly-half Sam Rogers converting in off the post.
But Tynedale had the last word of the half, as another line-out routine saw lock Joe Hanning power over, Grant’s fifth conversion making it 35-7 at the break.
Any hopes Chester may have harboured for a second-half revival were dashed two minutes in, when a lovely Leslie crosskick was gobbled up by Appleton, who went over in style.
The slaughter continued on 50 minutes, when another crosskick found Smith who romped over for his second try, Grant’s conversion making it 49-7.
Chester did come back briefly, aided by a yellow card for Nankivell and a game-ending injury to Campbell, and they scraped into double figures with a second try for Jones.
But Tynedale still were not finished, and the 50 came up when Grant slotted a penalty with five minutes left.
There was still time for Appleton to secure his brace from the final play of the game, Grant adding the extras for a perfect day from the tee.
Tynedale are on their travels again this Saturday, when they go down to Yorkshire to face Otley, currently lying bottom of the table with one win from eight.
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