Redcar Bruise Blyth!
What began as a beautiful Saturday afternoon for rugby soon turned into a statement performance, as the boys travelled up to Blyth for a must-win fixture.

Redcar set the tone straight from kick-off with an aggressive defensive set that pushed Blyth back. Five minutes later, the first points of the day came as Redcar opted for a simple three in front of the posts — settling the early nerves and getting the boys rolling.

For the next 30 minutes, Redcar’s forwards dominated the set piece and consistently broke the gain line. Caleb Kasonali grabbed an early try with a snipe around the corner, showing real strength to finish. Damian Buck then crossed for the simplest try of the game as a well-executed catch-and-drive thundered over from 10 metres out.

Lee Collins added another, with the young 10 — who had an outstanding game — attacking the line and stepping his opposite man to go under the posts. Dom Ayre continued his tradition of scoring from a 5-metre tap-and-go penalty.
Blyth did respond with two well-worked tries of their own, finding the edge on both occasions with tidy handling from their backs.

Around the 30-minute mark the heavens opened, and the downpour unfortunately spoiled much of the game’s flow. The second half became stop-start, with handling errors, injuries, and players battling the sudden cold snap.

After 15 scrappy minutes, Redcar switched back on and finished the game strongly. Another catch-and-drive lineout saw Nathan Gibson score in just his third game back. Caleb Kasonali added his second, pouncing on a loose ball and running it in from 50 metres. Joe Hudson then crashed over from 20 metres out, beating multiple defenders on his way.

The boys set out to send a message, and they did exactly that. The forwards laid an outstanding platform, while Lee Collins showed another level of maturity and controlled the game from start to finish. The rest of the young lads stood up and were counted

Much credit to Blyth, they stayed in the fight throughout the game while dealing with injuries and player changes, and a massive thank you for being great hosts after, the lads love the hospitality.