The benefits of last week's friendly against Canterbury were quickly apparent. Had Blackheath come into this game cold after the enforced five week lay-off they may have opened in the frantic over-anxious manor they had shown against their Kent rivals, before they settled down to score seven lovely tries in that 37-7 romp, but with the cobwebs blown away they were now able to demonstrate confidence and control.
Not that the Club's desperation to get out and play a competitive game of rugby wasn't obvious! Perhaps reminded of that late penalty which had denied them victory at Corbridge in October, they began with disciplined urgency and after the early set-back of Robert Miller's first minute penalty, Tynedale's only points of the afternoon, set-up camp in the opposition twenty-two. Out of hand kicking has not always been Blackheath's forte but early high balls were put up with precision, allowing the hosts to chase and harry, with big hits coming in from Mark Odejobi and Liam Wordley amongst others, never allowing the visitors to settle. Matt Leek, who struck the ball well, soon had the score level with his first penalty and on 21 minutes Blackheath's second five-metre scrum enabled James Honeyben to feed Sam Smith on the short side, the left-wing crashing through a tackle for his fourth try of the season.
If there was one complaint it might be that Blackheath didn't make the most of the pressure and chances they created that a more fine-tuned machine might have done. Honeyben lost the ball forward as he went for the goal-line after good build up play involving Tom Bason and Ally Vanner, Will Matthews might have hoofed upfield, instead of trying to pick up after a fortuitous charge-down, and Steve Hamilton really should have found a better scoring pass, having done all the hard-work to get himself within metres of the try-line. However, another Leek penalty, when the fly-half himself was taken out late and high, extended the lead further, and in the 33rd minute clean line-out ball and quick hands across a back-line which included Australian centre Richard Windsor, making his league debut, allowed Matt Vaughan to pierce the Tynedale defence once more for the second try and an 18-3 advantage.
Tynedale, in their first ever season in National League Two, arrived at Rectory Field as one of the in-form sides having won their last four matches, including the impressive scalps of Birmingham/Solihull and Launceston, and moving up on the rails into third place in the table. In the match in October they had executed their limited chances well to score two tries and gain the advantage and now just prior to the interval served warning with a break down the left forcing a try-saving tackle from Odejobi. In the third quarter the visitors gradually gained more possession, despite the ten-minute loss of lock Andrew Murray (the Tynesiders 21st yellow card of the campaign), but on the hour-mark a beautifully struck drop-goal from Vaughan, who'd moved up to fly-half after Leek had hobbled from the field, snuffed out any further resistance.
Ben Ibrahim's try, when the replacement scrum-half dived over in added time, together with Tom White's fine conversion from out wide, completed an excellent afternoon for Blackheath's young back division and led to frantic effort to find a fourth try in the dying moments. They didn't get close but at least 2009 has finally got under way and in the right kind of style.
Scorers:
Blackheath Tries: Smith
Vaughan
Ibrahim
Conv: Leek
White
DG: Vaughan
Pens: Leek 2
Tynedale Pens: Miller
Graham Cox