Ross Tucknott: Cornwall, Sport & All Sorts

Most teams gaining promotion to National One have a honeymoon season then struggle the second time around. Bucking that trend, Tynedale’s second season at this level has been every bit as successful as their first, with the northern outfit currently scrapping it out with Launceston for third place in the league after finishing fourth last year. Tynedale will be eager to record their first win against existing Duchy opposition away from home, although they beat Mounts Bay at the Mennaye on the last day of last season, in the last match played by the ill-fated Cornish side. Last season’s corresponding fixture was the last of Redruth’s 100% marathon winning streak, with the home side winning 15-5 the week before losing to Cambridge.

Tynedale had a poor first two months of this season. Home wins against Blackheath and Cambridge and an away win at Newbury kept the points coming in, as did a draw against Otley, but away losses to Launceston, Sedgley Park and Nuneaton and home defeats to Esher and Blaydon left them drifting in mid-table. Since November, however, Tynedale have been in imperious form, winning 13 of their 16 games. Only away defeats at Esher, London Scottish and Blaydon have marred their rise back towards the top and they come into today’s fixture having won their last four games, three of which at the expense of bottom-four sides. Tynedale have also managed to improve on last season’s indiscipline: they have received 17 cards so far versus 26 at this point last season, leaving them in third-from-bottom on the discipline table (above Newbury and Wharfedale).

Despite a club-worst three yellow cards, Alistair Murray is having the season of his career this year. Tynedale’s stalwart number eight has scored 13 tries from his 22 starts since September, beating his previous best of 11 tries three years ago when Blaydon pipped them to the then National Three North title. All but two of his tries have been scored in the north-east, but a brace away against champions-elect Esher prove that he can travel well too. He’s also on a rich vein of form, with 9 tries from the last 9 games. Gavin Beasley and Stuart Hall both have 85 points from the boot, despite Hall only having started 6 times this season. Charlie Ingall and former CAB Hamish Smales lead a array of high-scoring backs, but high-scoring hooker Joe Graham is also into double figures, making Tynedale one of only two teams with two forwards in their top three try scorers.

The other such team is Redruth.