Newbury Blues 22 Tynedale 24
BLUES took a kick right where and when it hurts as normal service was resumed at the start of their new league campaign.
Tynedale embarked on the 580-mile round trip from Corbridge and Northumberland in apprehensive mood, but made the return journey buoyant after Gavin Beasley’s 86th minute conversion to Joe Graham’s try left Blues dazed after their return to the third tier of national rugby.
“You could just see it coming,” said Blues coach Ben Sturnham, who admitted to feeling “gutted” by his side’s defeat.
“We had the chances to make sure of that game, but you could see us panicking.
“I made my feelings clear at the end of that.”
The last-gasp turnaround came after Blues had seemingly got away with a poor display in a poor game, snatching the lead themselves with a debut try from winger Martin Freeman and going 22-17 ahead in the third minute of stoppage time.
A first half littered with errors looked every inch a first-run out of the season for both teams as both struggled to keep the ball in hand for more than two passes.
Newbury fly half Mitch Burton gave Blues the benefit of the first points of the season at Monks Lane with a mammoth fourth minute penalty, only for Beasley to reply in kind.
Burton hoisted over a drop goal, but Blues could not weave a breakthrough and it was Tynedale who carved a way to the line when Charlie Ingall broke left for full back James Hoyle to complete the move to score, Beasley converting.
A Burton penalty cut the gap and a Waylon Gasson tackle on Graham when he broke kept Blues in touch before the interval, after which Newbury kept Tynedale at bay, apart from on two occasions when the visitors should have stretched their advantage.
Graham was denied a score by Chris Ridgers’ intervention, and Ingall did touch down but play was hauled back for a scrum by the touch judge.
Another Burton penalty slotted Blues ahead, only for Ingall to get his reward when teed up by Sep Visser, and Beasley’s extras put Tynedale back in front by five points.
Blues had not seriously threatened the line until then, but within three minutes they had put together their best move of the game with Matt Williams punching out the final pass for Freeman to go in with Burton’s conversion giving Blues a lead they held until three minutes into time added-on, when Burton added his fourth penalty.
That should have been that, but when Dominic Shaw took a tap penalty in a last, desperate throw, Blues’ looked spreadeagled and weary and Rob White’s half-break led to hooker Graham coasting in to score, and Beasley kept his composure to slot home the decisive kick to give Blues a cold welcome to their new league surroundings.
Newbury Blues: M. Williams; Ridgers, Scott, Humphries, Freeman; Burton, Gasson; Green, McGrath, Rowland; Hodge, Pape; Ascroft-Leigh, Fox, Coxon-Smith. Subs: Oliver, McGregor, Cannock, Sulllivan, Avery.
Tynedale: Hoyle; Visser, Smales, Ingall, Rogers; Gavin Beasley, Shaw; J. Williams, Graham, Harrison; Marshall, Showler; Murray, Grant Beasley, Irvin. Subs: Lavelle, Fieldhouse, Dunn, Cousin, White.

NEWBURY'S opening day fate had nothing on that suffered by the Manchester side relegated alongside them last season as they went down 148-0 at home to Esher.