Six tries for Rosslyn Park brought another bonus point win for them and relegation for Tynedale, whose performance on the day looked anything but that of condemned men. When Park were good they were very, very good, but the purple patches were interspersed with some relatively ordinary ones: perhaps next week’s trip to Ealing was already on their minds. Add into the mix that Tynedale were not going down without a fight and this was a far better contested match than the bare stats would suggest.

A strong start suggested something more one-sided as Park threw everything into attack, almost overwhelming the visiting defence. Tynedale conceded a penalty just outside the 22 and Park made their intentions clear by spurning the 3 points on offer and kicked to touch for the catch and drive. The drive proved irresistible and skipper Hugo Ellis touched down. Fly half Scott Sneddon nailed a good conversion for 7-0 on 3 minutes.

Tynedale replied immediately with a strong run up the left by winger Peter Weightman. He was stopped but when the ball was worked inside Park conceded a penalty. Fly half Brett Connon made no mistake kicking into the wind for 3-7.

Park replied to such impertinence with a massive attack up the left from which winger Dave Vincent was sent flying to the line, only to be brought back for ‘crossing’.

It was the visitors who drew next blood, with a good attack, moving the ball along the line from out wide. Flanker Dan Temm came onto it at pace and shot across the line. The conversion went wide but an 8-7 lead on 8 minutes gave hope to the Northumberland side.

The Park faithful had to wait through more than 15 minutes of promising moves breaking down before normal service was restored. An attack up the left saw Vincent break at speed. He appeared to be successfully tackled but regained his feet and sprinted on to score for 12-8 on 26 minutes.

Whilst the home side were clearly the more dangerous they struggled to really assert themselves at the business end. Eventually winger Kiba Richards took charge of things with a trademark powerful run that committed defenders and allowed him to hand a try to scrum half Luke Carter, who popped up on his inside. Sneddon converted for 19-8 on 31 minutes.

However, it was the visitors who had the final say before the interval. A neat attack was stopped by a blatant offside to give Tynedale a very kickable penalty. Needing the win they opted for a scrum and their enterprise was rewarded when the excellent Temm seized the ball and sent in replacement Joe Mills to narrow the gap to 19-13. A relatively straightforward conversion was missed, but Tynedale were still very much in the match.

A good attack up the left by full-back JJ Kilmartin came to nought for Park, followed by a further raid spoilt only when the ‘scoring’ pass was not released. Park began to make errors and Tynedale had a good period in terms of possession but could not come up with anything to really stretch the home defence.

Eventually Park got it together and massed in the Tynedale 22 for replacement flanker Tom Baldwin to get over for the bonus point try on 61 minutes and extend the score to 24-13. An impossible looking conversion proved to be just that.

The home side were now well in charge and six minutes later another big assault on the visitors’ line saw the ball spread quickly to the right where centre Mark Ireland cruised in for a try. An outstanding conversion from Sneddon extended the lead to 31-13.

Tynedale showed great spirit in adversity and a neat break saw full-back Adam King run to the line. Connon converted for 31-30.

Park were determined to have the last say. They looked to have every chance with an attacking scrum but were penalised. A charge through the middle by Ellis came to nought. Eventually Tynedale were penalised at a scrum, the penalty being hoofed to touch. Park set up a driving maul that looked set to cross the line anyway, but Ellis made sure by peeling off the back to plunge over for his second try. Sneddon’s conversion brought the final whistle at 38-20.

Park: Kilmartin; Richards, Ireland, Mackey, Vincent; Sneddon; Carter; Lundberg, Bellamy, MacKenzie; Treadwell, Boyle; MacFarlane, Ellis
Subs: Woolstencroft, Liffchak, Baldwin, Gash, Broughton
Park scorers: Ellis (2T), Vincent (T), Carter (T), Baldwin (T), Ireland (T), Sneddon (4C)

April 13, 2015