1st Team Match Reports

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Sandal 43 Blaydon 33

Sandal RUFC photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/onionbag/albums/72157672315575867/

Blaydon slumped to a second defeat of the season with a disappointing performance at Sandal in which they woefully failed to exploit the conditions when it was their turn to have use of the wind.
The home side were sharp out of the blocks and took the lead with a splendid solo effort by Colin Johnson who raced clear from half-way and then scored again through lock-forward James Whittaker and then Jon Gillespie.
When Blaydon finally got going centre Dan Marshall finished off a multi-handling movement to touch down under the posts with Jamie Guy on target with the conversion and by the break were just 5 points adrift.
Inexplicably they were then hemmed in their own half for long periods and some poor decision making and handling errors saw Sandal advance their lead to 36-14 with further tries from Gillespie, Alistair Johnson and Tom Johnson.
With defeat staring them in the face Blaydon at last began to assert with full-back Nathan Bailey on the end of some slick passing to race in from 30 metres. Skipper Keith Laughlin went over from a forward drive and then a Cameron Bell effort from close range brought it back to 36-33 and everything to play for.
With 4 minutes remaining another swift attack produced a 3 on 1 overlap and an almost certain try only for the referee to stop play for an injury. The chance was lost and to add insult to injury they then lost possession allowing Jon Wainwright to add another late try for Sandal.

John Brennan

 

Blaydon 42 Harrogate 36

Blaydon’s late rally secures 5 point win against Harrogate who led for a large portion of the game and sees Blaydon go top of the league, as Billingham lose at Rossendale
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Local results
Mid-way through the second half of this uncompromising affair, skipper Keith Laughlin was off  injured for 20 minutes following a late tackle, Blaydon were trailing by 15 points and looking to have nowhere to go. But then the game turned in dramatic fashion as the home backs were finally able to cut loose, resulting in 3 tries in rapid succession all converted by the reliable James Guy, and suddenly the boot was on the other foot.
Even then however the outcome was uncertain as Harrogate drove into the home 22 in the final minute only to be held up over the line.
Nathan Wyman, the visitors centre, struck an early penalty and was later to land 4 conversions but Blaydon began the try-fest when Dan Taylor ran round the defence to score under the posts. Sam Brady crossed for Harrogate but Taylor was in again when he robbed one of the opposition and on the half-hour it was 14-10.
The absence of Laughlin was now keenly felt and when Blaydon lost a scrum on their own line Brady pounced from close range, followed by Luke Edwards shrugging off some weak tackles to score in the corner to give Harrogate a 10 point lead at the break.
Nathan Horsfall scooted in just after the break but the visitors pack continued to dominate and lock-forward Andy Boyde made it 5 tries and that 15 points lead.
Hooker Cameron Bell touched down from close range to start the home revival, centre Dan Marshall jinked his way over from a tapped penalty and then streaked down the left wing to set up the winning score by James Cooney on the other flank.
Six tries for Blaydon, a 5 points win, but where did that late rally come from.
John Brennan

Lymm 13 Blaydon 26

Despite being in arrears for much of the first half Blaydon pulled off a comfortable bonus point win on their trip to Cheshire. With the pack generally on top they had the lions share of possession throughout and with better application might have won by a much bigger margin.
They got off to a perfect start when Jamie Guy broke from half-way to send in Dan Marshall but failed to capitalise further and it was the home side that grabbed the initiative. Callum Nolan the Lymm full-back put over 2 penalties in quick succession and was then on target with the conversion when winger Ali Sutherland crashed over in the corner to make it 13-5.
That was to be last scoring by the home side however and with the interval beckoning they incurred a yellow-card and Blaydon put the numeric advantage to good use. From a prolonged attack in the 22 the ball was fed out to Marshall from a ruck and the centre finished in style for his second score with Guy adding the extras.
Trailing by just one point at the break Blaydon had their best spell in the second period and added a 3rd try following four phases of excellent possession with hooker Cameron Bell finishing off in front of the posts.
Lymm rallied and spent some time at the other end but then spilled the ball in attack allowing Blaydon to move it through the hands and release winger James Cooney who raced in for the important bonus point try.
John Brennan

Blaydon 24, HULL RFC 26

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There was a carnival atmosphere at the Crow Trees ground yesterday with the Mayor of Gateshead Councillor Jill Green plus representatives from the RFU in attendance for the official launch of the new all weather pitch, but the party was spoiled by the efforts of a very determined Hull side and Blaydon had to be content with a couple of bonus points.

Hull took an early 2 try lead only to trail narrowly at the interval but then shocked the home side with another 2 try blitz and remained in control until the end. It never looked like being Blaydon’s day and their 100% record disappeared under the weight of too many penalties conceded and too many passes going to ground.

Hull scrum-half Harvey Harding nipped in to score the opener after considerable pressure on the Blaydon line which had resulted in a yellow card for Darren Fearn. Simon Humberstone failed to convert but was on target when Hull hooker Mike Jobling touched down from another short scrum.

Blaydon finally got going on the half-hour and from a second tap penalty in the 22 Nathan Bailey crossed with Jamie Guy adding the points. Then with the interval beckoning Jack Appleton was held up short and Fearn was on hand to crash over.

Despite having had just the 2 meaningful attacks Blaydon were 14-12 up at the break but there was to be a dramatic turn-around early in the second period. Dan Marshall broke from defence at speed to release Appleton who twisted this way and that on his way to the line but somehow the ball went down, Hull hacked on and winger Mike Adlard went in unopposed at the other end.

Barely had the dust settle when their centre Alex Heard went over equally unopposed down the other wing and with 2 conversions it had now become 14-26.

Blaydon picked up the pace for Bailey to squeeze over for try number 3 and Appleton secured the bonus point after a tremendous break by Harry Borthwick but significantly neither effort was converted and the game was gone.

John Brennan

Alnwick 13 Blaydon 28

Blaydon comfortably made it 2 wins out of 2, both with a try scoring bonus point, but found Alnwick a much sterner test than the opposition 7 days earlier. They led from the 15th minute onward and were generally in control despite being down to 13 men for the final 10 minutes, having lost the services of 2 prop forwards.
Try scorer Darren Fearn went off injured whilst fellow prop Dan Lyall was red-carded for a second yellow card offence.
It was very much nip and tuck at first but Blaydon gradually turned the screw and from a spell of pressure the ball was whipped out to winger Jack Appleton to touch down in the corner.
Dan Taylor landed an excellent conversion to make it 0-7 but Alnwick hit back with 2 penalties by their fly-half Alex Robson and there was just 1 point in it as the interval approached. Blaydon however were able to restore their advantage with a second try coming after more good possession from the pack and Rob Lenderyou finishing off in the corner, Taylor on target once more to make it 6-14 at the break.
The second period began slowly with little of note until the 60th minute when yet more good work by the forwards from a line-out produced a 3rd Blaydon score, this time Fearn crossing the line and Jamie Guy adding the extras.
At which point the visitors went off the boil,  and roared on by an enthusiastic crowd at what was Alnwick’s first home game in the Northern Premier League centre Callum Burn crossed for a try and landed the conversion himself.
Despite their shortage of personnel in the closing stages Blaydon controlled the ball well and were rewarded with the important 4th try in the final minute when Harry Borthwick went over from a line-out and Guy was again on target with the conversion.
 
John Brennan
1st XV Rugby News

Off to a flying start at the Crowtrees

A sunny day on the new AGP welcomed Vale of Lune to the Crowtrees. A healthy crowd was there to cheer on the lads as well as a great away support for The Vale.

Blaydon got off to a flying start with scores from Dan Marshall, Nathan Bailey, Jack Appleton and David Lyall. All the efforts were well worked team efforts some from under our own posts. The points continued to rise and by the end of the game it finished 92-12.

Director of Rugby Matt Thompson was very happy after the game but told his boys “we move on to next week now and a massive derby fixture at Alnwick. We must train harder  this week and look to keep the tempo and skill level of the game very high. This can only be achieved via hard work on the training field.”

See you all at Alnwick.

 

Kaizen

1st XV Rugby News

Blaydon 92 Vale of Lune 12

The first day of a new season, the first game in a new league, and the first game on a new playing surface at the Crow Trees ground – the stage was set for Blaydon to shine, and they did not disappoint.
Their visitors were also playing in the Northern Premier League for the first time, via a promotion last season, and simply had no answer to the speed and guile of the Blaydon backs who ran in 14 tries, most of them with consummate ease.
It took Blaydon 3 minutes to record their first score but they then raced to 52-0 by the interval and added another 6 in the second period with centre Dan Marshall finishing with 4 and winger Jack Appleton a hat-trick.
So comfortable was the win that the ball was scarcely in the air as there never a need to clear the home lines although Vale did manage a couple of second half efforts by way of compensation.
Skipper Keith Laughlin twice led a charge into the visitors 22, leading to the opener when full-back Nathan Bailey was handed a simple score by Marshall. Hooker Cameron Bell barged his way over in the corner for the second and then the floodgates opened.
The common denominator in most of the tries was Blaydon grabbing possession in their own 22 and a back beating his man to run to the other end and  hand it on to a support runner, and Vale were powerless to do very much about it.
By half-time Marshall had a hat-trick whilst David Lyall, James Cooney and Dan Taylor also got their names on the score sheet.
It was quite a shock when the visitors crossed the try line within a minute of the re-start, scrum half Charles Lomas over from close range and Harry Finan converting. On 58 minutes Lomas scored again when sniping from a short scrum but that was the limit of their efforts.
Marshall with his fourth, Rob Lenderyou and Taylor with his second and finally an Appleton hat-trick in 13 minutes finished it off for Blaydon.
No doubt the opposition will be stronger in the weeks ahead but what a start to life in the Northern Premier.
 
John Brennan.

Off to a flying start

We welcomed Vale of Lune for the opening day of the season, on our brand new AGP and it was noticable that the Blaydon lads were chomping at the bit to get there season underway and show what they are capable of after a very hard preseason. The conditions were perfect for running rugby and we set off perfectly running some attractive full team efforts from distance.

The crowd were entertained with Dan Marshall, Jack Appleton, Nathan Bailey and David Lyall getting us off to a healthy lead early on and the scores continued. We finished 92-12 winners with lots of smiles on our faces. Up next, Alnwick away which will be a hard fought derby day. Looking forward to seeing as many familiar faces as possible up the A1 to cheer the lads on.

 

Kaizen

Derby Day at Tynedale

No better way to finish off a hard pre season than a very competitive tough game at our rivals Tynedale. Blaydon once again set off at a fast pace going into a 10 – 0 lead with another well worked try by Jack Appleton and for the 2nd Alex Clarke running a lovely line for speedster Dan Marshall to collect an off load and get over the white wash.

A fight back from the blue and whites was always going to come led by Blaydon old bot Chris Wearmouth, with some bulldozing carriers down the middle of the park. This build up of pressure led to Jamie Guy taking a 10 minute rest in the sin bin. Whilst we were down to 14 another Blaydon old Boy Tom Bramwell found some space in midfield and created to well worked Tynedale tries. Blaydon responded with 3 points soon after.

Blaydon made some substitutions with Jack Davidson and Keith Laughlin coming off the bench with immediate impact. Keith pinning his ears back off a Harry Borthwick break to run in from the half way line. Blaydon eventually held on after some late Dale pressure to pip it 23-22.

Now on to the league next week and Vale of Lune on our brand new artificial pitch.

Honours even for the Baggett Cup

A strong Blaydon squad of 25 players went to Wharfedale to compete for the Baggett Cup. Blaydon set off at the usual high tempo scoring 2 wonderful tries, including a peach of a team effort finished off by Jack Appleton. Dale came back in there usual aggressive way displaying a great power performance from there pack scoring a Penalty try from a scrum and a driving maul effort. Jack Appleton scored another well timed interception which old wharfed ale boy Jamie Guy easily converted. Some great Blaydon defensive efforts saw  the game stuck at 21-21 at 80 mins which both teams saw as a fair result. Matt Thompson mentioned he was very pleased with the effort shown and improvement made week on week as well as the strength in depth in his squad which in no doubt will give him selection headaches during the season.