Blaydon 69 Sandal 12
5 point win for Blaydon RFC puts us back in playoff spot, as Billingham Lose at Wirral
Blaydon 69 Sandal 12
Blaydon put their disappointing recent form well and truly behind them with this 11 try romp over a Sandal side that simply had no answer whenever the hosts made a clean break, and it all started within 60 seconds of the whistle.
Sandal fluffed the kick-off ball just outside their 22 and when the Blaydon half-backs moved it on from the scrum Dan Marshall put Frazer Wilson over in the corner, whilst spectators were still taking their seats.
Jamie Guy added the conversion and then added the extras again in the 6th minute after Marshall had scored a contender for ‘try of the season’. The centre set off on a mazy run from his own 22 weaving in and out of a bewildered defence, and not a hand had been laid on him when he touched down at the other end for a fantastic score.
And so the pattern of the game was set – Sandal coughing up possession and then parting like the Red Sea in the face off some slick Blaydon running.
Nathan Bailey started and then finished off the next score to make it 21-0 but in a rare attack full-back Jack Townend pulled one back for the visitors.
Matt Jenkinson then did a ‘Marshall’ when he intercepted and raced in from 50 metres for the try bonus point, and by the interval Marshall was in again, collecting his own chip ahead, and Sean Pyle had added a 6th right on the whistle.
Leading 31-7 at the break Blaydon were quickly back into their stride with Pyle crossing for his second 2 minutes after the restart. The hooker was then prominent in the build-up to a Guy Graham effort whilst prop forward David Lyall went in from a line-out drive following a high tackle.
Another penalty for a similar offence led to an almost farcial 10th try when Harry Borthwick took a quick tap and whist everyone stood still simply set off up-field to run 50 metres unchallenged.
Sandal scrum-half Bill Morecombe took advantage of a long pass to score a second for his side but basically it was one-way traffic and when Foreman broke from a scrum in the visitors 22 Graham strolled in for his second, with Foreman (4) and Nathan Horsfall (1) adding to the 2 earlier Guy conversions to complete a more than satisfactory result that takes Blaydon back up to 2nd place in the table.
John Brennan
