COUNTY CUP SUCCESS
The 1stXV defeated Percy Park 64-8 (the biggest winning margin in the 124 year history of the competition) in the final of the Northumberland Senior Cup played at Northern on Wednesday 26th April 2006.
The Veterans won the Northumberland Junior Challenge Trophy when they defeated Whitley Bay Rockcliff Rangers 50-14 in the final at Ashington on Saturday 1st April.

The victorious 1stXV squad with the Northumberland Senior Cup

(Back Row) Mike Coulson(Pres), Ben Duncan, Ben Marshall, Stu Johnson, Mark Clarke, Jack Harrison, Gavin Beasley, Keith Dungait, Grant Rastall, Dan Herdman, Graeme Smith, Paul Scott, Andrew Murray, Ed Parker, Tom Borthwick(coach), Ali Grey.
(Front Row) Hamish Smales, Cameron Johnson, Matthew McLoughlin, Scott Breerton, Matthew Fieldhouse, Douglas Jupp, Phil Belgian, Peter Southern, Ed Holmes, Aaron Charlton, Bartie Milburn, Will Massey

CLICK HERE to download/view 1stXV Teams, Scorers & Teams
CLICK HERE to download/view 1stXV Match Reports

FIXTURE/MEMBERSHIP BOOKLET (2005-2006)
CLICK HERE to download/view

MATCH PROGRAMME
Tynedale v Northern - 12th April 2006

COUNTY UNDER 20'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Northumberland lost narrowly 20-24 to Yorkshire in the final of the County Under 20 Championship played at Twickenham on Monday 29th May 2006.
Tynedale were well represented with the following youngsters being part of the squad:-

Jack Harrison
Hamish Smales
David Warwick
James Rastall
Andrew Ions
Jimmy Scott
Chris Hall

HAMISH STARS FOR ENGLAND
Tynedale youngster 18-year-old Hamish Smales made his debut for England Counties on Saturday 11th March and in doing so became the youngest player ever to represent England Counties.
The England Counties team defeated their French counterparts 29-16 in Beaune and it was Hamish who sealed the victory with a fine individual try after 77 minutes when he scorched in from 75 yards.
Hamish retained his place in the side for the home fixture against Tunisia on Saturday June 3rd 2006 at Broadstreet - the English Counties side winning 35-7.

SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT - SUNDAY 4TH SEPT 2005

The seventh International Schools Tournament was held at Tynedale Park on Sunday 4th September 2005. The winners were Filton College, Bristol who defeated RGS Newcastle in the final.
The Filton 'B' squad won the Plate competition, defeating Northumberland Schools in the final. The Tynedale Schools squad lost out to RGS, Newcastle in the semi-final.

Contestants were :-
RGS, Newcastle;
King's School, Tynemouth;
Yarm School;
Barnard Castle;
Northumberland Schools;
Tynedale Schools;
QEGS Wakefield;
Filton College, Bristol;
Edinburgh Academy;
Fettes College, Edinburgh;
Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh;
Connacht Schools;
Cistertian College, Rossgrey, Eire.

SNIPPETS

(29/05/2006) Tynedale's physiotherapist for the past four years, Matt Lee, is unfortunately (for us) leaving the club to take up a full time position with Premiership side Northampton Saints. We congratulate Matt and wish him well.
(10th Jan 2006) QEHS student Graham Dunn (Aga's son) has been selected for a 50 man England U18 squad. Graham is a year younger than most of his fellow squad members.
(15/01/2006) The Environment Agency's work on the upgrade of the flood banks is well under away. 6,000 tons of clay have been transported down to the east side of the ground in preparation for inserting a clay core into the bank - topsoil will then be replaced. Work could take a further six weeks after which the car-park and access road will be reinstated.
(Tuesday 6th December 2005) Sadly, within a three day period, the death has occurred of two of the Club's ex-Stewards, Barry York and Tom McPherson. Barry was steward at the club from 1977 until 1990 and proved especially popular with the players with whom he built an excellent rapport. Barry continued to 'keep in touch' with his old friends and was a regular attendee at the club's annual cricket trip to Scorton. Tom was steward for a short period after Barry's departure and was well a known figure in the Corbridge area.
(Sunday 28th Aug 2005) - A Tynedale Grasshoppers squad won the Northumberland County 10's at Border Park. The squad comprised Andy Neal, Will Sedgewick, Johnny Fieldhouse, Chris Hall, Jamie Holland, Dale Young, Alan Howe, Ben Horncastle, Ian Gillespie, Mathew Horricks, Jerome Parker, James Robinson and Graham Crosby.
Unfortunately the Borders District League (the league that the Raiders participated in) has not matched everyone's expectations and will not be ran for 2005-2006.
Tynedale President, Mike Coulson, (also Membership Sec, 4th Official, Barman, etc etc) went into the Freeman hospital on Sunday 31st July for a triple heart bypass operation.

ALISTAIR JOUNSON (ALI) - INSIDE OUT - BBC1
(Wed 11/01/2006) - The BBC filmed Ali and some of his friends for a programme called "Inside Out" fronted by John Inverdale to be shown on BBC1 (North East & Cumbria) on Monday 23th January 2006 at 7.30pm. Filming took place at Tynedale Park and at Ali's farm 'Wolf Hills'.
The Club received an E-Mail from producer Andrew Hartley on Jan 18th :-
"Many thanks again for accommodating us so wonderfully well last Wednesday.
John (Inverdale) has very kindly agreed to donate his fee for making the item to Ali's Trust Fund - which says a lot about both his kindness and how impressed he was by both Ali and the way the club has responded."

John Inverdale subsequently wrote the following article in the Daily Telegraph:-

Inspirational Johnson fights on with refusal to accept defeat
By John Inverdale.
(Daily Telegraph: 18/01/2006)
So how's the January detox going? Given up yet, or still battling on through gritted teeth? If you're wavering about going to the gym today, maybe you won't be by the time you've finished this.
Ali Johnson will be going to the gym today. It's a very special gym - arguably the most remote in the whole country. It's in an old cattle shed high up on the moors near Haltwhistle in Northumberland, a Jonny Wilkinson drop-kick from Hadrian's Wall. He's in there morning, noon and night, trying to rebuild his life.
Less than 18 months ago, Ali was a highly promising prop forward, playing for Tynedale in National Division Three North. He'd had a few games for Newcastle's development team, and there was talk about the link becoming more permanent. Had the dice fallen another way, he could have been lining up alongside Jonny instead of facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
But then a scrum collapsed. He'd spent £80 on a new pair of boots before the match against Fylde, and as he lay in hospital one of the nurses tried to cut them off. "What are you bloody doing?" he shouted. "They cost me a lot of money. I'll be wanting them again."
He won't, of course. But playing rugby once more is just about the only thing Ali Johnson has resigned himself to never doing again. Thanks to an exceptional bunch of guys at Tynedale, more than £200,000 has been raised to help Ali fight the biggest battle of his life.
There are very few areas of the North-East that don't know about his plight. Collection boxes in pubs have been filled to overflowing. Trendy wristbands (and they have to be OK if my 'cool' teenage daughter is prepared to wear one) have been sold by the thousand. As an example of a community rallying round a stricken individual, it's a story that's hard to beat.
I spent last week in Northumberland filming a documentary about Ali, and his belief that by working with an alternative therapist in London, he can one day get back on his feet. He feels abandoned by the NHS, who have offered him very limited physiotherapy, and so one day every week, he's up at six in the morning to begin an 18-hour travel ordeal that involves receiving treatment at a smart surgery in London's West End with the self-styled mind instructor, Hratch Ogali, who claims success with other spinal injury victims and sufferers from motor neurone disease.
The medical profession at large is sceptical about what Ogali preaches - his is the ultimate doctrine of mind over matter - but Ali believes in the philosophy. He's weaned himself off his anti-spasm pills, which made breathing almost impossible, he's got some movement back in his arms and there are positive signs of improvement in his shoulders. And every morning he's in the specially-designed gym, pedalling away on his exercise bike for hours on end, checking how much power is returning to his lower limbs. In the afternoon, he is close to mental and physical exhaustion as he lies on his purpose-built table-bed and tries to force his hand from the horizontal to touch his face. One of his ambitions is to scratch his nose. Think about that.
With the support of carers, friends and a wonderfully tight-knit farming family, his resolution and determination are truly inspiring. You will have your own thoughts about Ogali and his methods, but be in no doubt about what an exceptional young man Ali is.
He was a prop forward. A farmer. He liked his beer. But he has vowed never to have another pint until he stands on his own two feet once again. Which is why, day in day out, he's in the gym, working harder than most of us can conceive. Setting targets of minuscule improvement, which one day he believes will lead to his nirvana.
Ali's is a story about never quitting. Still unsure about going to your gym today?

TYNEDALE VETERANS (THE 'VETS')
The club again fielded a 'Veterans' side in season 2055-2006.
The season turnd out to b very successful with 8 matches being played and climaxing with the team winning the Northumberland Junior Challenge Trophy when they defeated Whitley Bay Rockcliff Rangers 50-14 in the final at Ashington.

A flavour of the Veterans' season is perhaps best illustrated by several match reports which can be downloaded/viewed by CLICKING HERE.

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Annual Report 2005-2006

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