Northumberland and Durham went head to head at Alnwick on Saturday in conditions that were more suited to cricket than rugby. The rugby varied between being scrappy and ill-disciplined to periods of good attacking and defensive play from both sides.
North exerted pressure on the Durham line from the kick off and, after going close several times, Blaydon-based number 8 Jason Smithson touched down to give North an early lead. Tynedale fly-half Beasley added the conversion.
Durham hit back with a try from their first visit to the North 22, a penalty kick to touch and the resulting line out setting a platform for scrum half Foreman to cross in the corner - Moore added an excellently struck conversion.
Tynedale flanker Andrew Murray touched down for a converted try soon afterwards to give North the lead again and Beasley was able extend the lead further with a penalty on 20 minutes. Failure to deal with the resulting kick off allowed Durham to press deep into North's 22. North weathered the storm before moving clear and, after full-back Smailes squandered a gilt-edged scoring opportunity, Tynedale flanker Grant Rastall touched down for an unconverted try.
Durham then enjoyed a long period of possession and territory and were able to close the half time gap to 22-10 when Moore slotted a penalty.
Similarly to the first half, the second half opened with North pressuring the Durham 22 but some good build up play was let down by small errors at crucial times. Durham held out and eventually, a turn over by Northumberland allowed Durham University winger Horrocks to break clear. His near-pitch length run to the Northumberland line was halted by an excellent last ditch tackle by Tynedale full back Smailes.
Smailes then finished an excellent period of play that saw North build several phases to work up to the Durham line and then create space to allow Smailes to crash over from 10 metres out. North kept the pressure up and replacement prop, Tynedale's Peter Southern, skilfully beat the last defender to cross for a converted try to give North a 34-10 lead with quarter of an hour to play.
Durham responded by moving play to the North 22 and exerting pressure by retaining the ball. The pressure told and Darlington Mowden Park flanker Myers was able to cross for a converted try with five minutes of the game remaining.
One of the best periods of play in the afternoon was also the last. Awarded a penalty and given the option to kick the ball dead and end the game, North opted to run and after several phases, Blaydon winger Andrew Fenby was able to cross for an unconverted try.
Northumberland's win in this fixture coupled with North Midlands' victory against Cumbria sets up a mouth-watering game next Saturday. Northumberland will take on North Midlands at Tynedale with a trip to Twickenham on offer to the winners. It promises to be a good game and all supporters will be welcome.
