Murray binning is costly

TYNEDALE looked as though they could just about survive without one of the Murray brothers, but clearly they couldn’t live without both.

With Andrew suspended for three games, Jamie was the main man in the pack, but his sin-binning midway through the second half changed the game against Blaydon.

At that point it was 8-8 and very similar to last season’s Corbridge contest, which Tynedale won 8-5 with Andrew Baggett unable to hit the target for the visitors.

He had the same problem again, missing two penalties – one of them straightforward – and a conversion before Elliot O’Brien took over when Murray was yellow-carded for going in from the side.

O’Brien missed as well, but before Murray returned Blaydon had scored two tries. The first was by Baggett, whose restored confidence then allowed him to add a penalty for a 23-8 lead.

Although Tynedale rallied they weren’t going to overhaul that deficit and a fifth defeat in the last six games has left them in fear of being dragged into the relegation scrap after finishing fourth last season.

Blaydon won’t trouble the leaders in National One, but they will survive comfortably and would take great heart from the performance of young home-grown lock Andrew Archibald.

He has played for the Newcastle Development XV and the watching Falcons boss Steve Bates must have been impressed on Saturday.

After 14 minutes of stalemate Archibald made the first telling run of the match when he burst down the middle, then when Tynedale took a 3- 0 lead he won a good turnover at the restart, leading to Baggett’s first penalty attempt, which drifted just wide from 40 metres.

Blaydon then created two overlaps, the second from a break by scrum half Tom Rock, but centre Paddy Dias first lost the ball in the tackle then dropped a pass.

It was a pity that Dias’ hands let him down because he’s a powerful lad with a good side-step. But his partnership with Baggett lacked zip compared with opponents Spencer Davey and Hamish Smales.

Blaydon needed livewire winger Kevin McShane to inject pace, which he often did, but it was a chip out of defence by full back Adam Dehaty which led to their first score.

Three of Blaydon’s four tries resulted from their own kicks bouncing in their favour, helped by Tynedale’s weakness in dealing with the situation.

Dehaty re-gathered his kick and the ball was moved right for prop Robbie Kalbraier to send No 8 Mark Wilson over.

Wilson is clearly going to be a very good player, although like a lot of back row boys when pitched in against the men he sometimes took the ball into contact and lost it.

Tynedale attacked throughout first half injury time and finally went back in front from a five-metre scrum, moving the ball right then left for full back James Hoyle to cross.

Despite having to take Kalbraier off, Blaydon were quickly on top on the resumption and an O’Brien drop goal levelled the scores.

Tynedale’s goal-kicking fly half Gavin Beasley, doubtful before the game, then retired and Blaydon continued to dominate, with Matt Hall, their hooker and captain, making the first of two powerful bursts.

The move was ended by a deliberate knock-on, but Baggett missed the simple penalty and things were looking ominous when he then threw out a poor pass when a try looked possible.

But just when it seemed this match might signal a spell in the wilderness for him, as it did last season, he capitalised on the extra space afforded by Murray’s yellow card by making a break on halfway.

Baggett linked with flanker Kerry Wood up the right touchline, taking the return pass to score halfway out and O’Brien converted.

Two minutes later a clearance kick bounced back for McShane to gather on halfway and he found Archibald in support.

The rangy lock shrugged off the first tackle and found himself in the clear with 30 metres to go.

There was no stopping him and suddenly it was 20-8.

Baggett’s penalty followed and there were only three minutes of normal time left when prop Jonny Williams burrowed over for Tynedale.

In added time Blaydon’s replacement flanker Gavin Jones, a Newcastle student who has played for Wharfedale, put in a telling run after another kind bounce and sent Dias over.

There was just time for right winger Peter Cole to squeeze over in the corner for Tynedale, and replacement fly half Andrew Hall’s excellent conversion earned a bonus point. They need every point they can get.