The pre-match message from Coach Smith was clear: do not underestimate Blyth. Despite their league standing, Rovers understood that Blyth would be highly motivated, fighting for league survival. In a thrilling DN2 game, Rovers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the final moments.

Blyth started brightly, and after several forward carries down the blindside, they were rewarded with a try. A Blyth player was tackled, and Rovers players believed he had been bundled into touch. However, the flag remained down, and the Blyth player reacted quickly. The age-old adage of “play to the whistle” must have resonated with the Rovers players. The Blyth kicker added the extras with an excellent conversion from out wide. Just five minutes in, it was Blyth 7 – 0 Rovers.

From the Rovers' restart, the ball was knocked on by a Rovers player into touch. Blyth opted for a scrum on their 10m line. The ball was passed untidily through their backs but they managed to recover. The ball reached their winger on his own 10m line, who showcased his speed, breaking through the Rovers' covering defense to score an individual try. The conversion was missed, leaving Rovers 12 points down after just eight minutes.

Rovers finally got on the scoreboard when they fielded a kick. Several forward drives culminated in the ball being passed to fly-half Fawcett, who executed a speculative cross-field kick. Rochester gathered the ball in his own half, sidestepped, and dummied his way into the opposition half. At this point, his center partner Barnfield took over and raced home for a try, though the conversion was missed.

Five minutes later, Rovers attacked again, with Barnfield crossing for his second try. Maguire crashed over the gain line at the halfway mark. Quick ball was delivered to Fawcett, who used his left foot for a deft grubber kick, catching the rushing Blyth defense off guard. Prop Josh Healey sprinted past the Blyth defense, gathered the grubber, and offloaded to the supporting Barnfield. With Alec outside him, Barnfield threw an audacious dummy to send two defenders the wrong way and gallop in for the try. The conversion was missed.

Just as Rovers seemed to gain momentum, Blyth struck back with tries of their own at the 30th and 39th minutes. The first came as Rovers were guilty of sloppy play during a scrum on their own 22. Harrington made a great break up the blindside to reach the Blyth half. He found the supporting Harrison, whose speculative offload went to ground. Blyth reacted quickly, stole the ball, and executed a clever kick behind the unorganized Rovers defense, allowing them to run in unchallenged. The conversion was successful. Just before half-time, Blyth added their fourth try. A Blyth scrum on the clubhouse side of the pitch, only 5m out, was passed along the back line. Despite a misplaced pass, the Blyth backs managed to regather and keep the ball alive. Several direct drives from their forwards allowed a switch back to the blindside, where a Blyth player found a gap to crash over. The conversion was missed, and at half-time, the score stood at Blyth 24 – 10 Rovers.

The half-time pep talk seemed to do the trick as Rovers raced out of the blocks. In the 41st minute, Shane got on the scoresheet. A Rovers line-out at the halfway line led to forward carries from Maguire and Powell, taking the ball into the 22. Dazz found Shane in midfield, who powered through the defenders to score under the posts. The conversion was successful, making it 24-17.

Just as many of the large visiting support thought Rovers would kick on, it was Blyth who responded with the next try. Rovers opted to tap a free kick in their own 22. Initially, this seemed to work as they advanced to their 10m line, but the ball was stolen in the tackle. Some good footwork and a quick pass later, the Blyth winger scored. The conversion was successful, bringing the score to Blyth 31, Rovers 17, leaving Rovers with much to do.

At the 58-minute mark, Rovers began to string together a few phases. When the forwards tied in the Blyth defense, the ball was passed through hands to Ben Glaister-Smith, who had the simple task of running in from 5m. Fawcett missed a difficult touchline conversion, leaving the score at 31-22. Could Rovers pull this one back? They certainly gave themselves a chance when a line-out on the Blyth 10m line was passed to loose forward Shane, who broke the first line of defense and fended off a covering defender to score under the posts. The conversion was successful, narrowing the score to 31-29.

Rovers' hopes of winning were dashed once more in the 68th minute when Blyth scored an unconverted try. A kick deep into the Rovers' 22m was not dealt with cleanly. After a line-out, Rovers knocked on, giving Blyth an excellent attacking platform on the Rovers' 5m line. A blindside move involving the 8, 9, and 11 players resulted in a score in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed, leaving the score at 36-29 with time running out.

However, Rovers embodied a never-say-die attitude. In the 76th minute, a tap penalty 5m from the Blyth line was eventually fed to Harrington, who pirouetted his way over the line and crucially under the posts. Dazz added the extras, bringing the score to 36-36. The referee indicated there were three minutes to play, and both teams sought the win. Rovers kept the ball alive for several phases before Blyth infringed. Although the referee indicated that time was up, Rovers opted to kick for touch. The line-out functioned well, and the ball was kept alive. The forwards drove and carried, and eventually, the ball was moved to Barnfield, who once again sidestepped and dummied his way to the try line. Although he was tackled on the line, he managed to ground the ball, and the referee awarded the try to the delight of the Rovers players and supporters, and to the heartbreak of the Blyth team. Daz added the extra points, and the referee called time on a thrilling match, with a final score of 36-43.

This was a tremendous game of rugby that kept the decent crowd entertained throughout. Rovers had experienced several last-minute defeats recently and understood the feeling of disappointment. Blyth will feel they should have secured points in this game after leading for 76 minutes. However, credit must go to the Rovers players, who demonstrated resilience and spirit, and continued to play until the final whistle.

Man of the match went to Kev Maguire who was non-stop carrying and tackling all game.

Rovers: Harrison, Bramfitt, Rochester, Barnfield, Railton C, Fawcett, Vincent, Healey, Galister/Smith, Powell, Wilkins, Jeffrey, Maguire, Dean, Harrington. Subs all used: Smith, Cairns, Rees

A big thank you to Blyth for their hospitality and for a great day of rugby.

A special mention goes to the Blyth supporter, who is also a nurse, for stepping in to help a Rovers supporter who was feeling unwell. The supporter is now well again, and we would like to express our appreciation for her actions and support.

Next week Rovers are at Home to Sedgefield in a re-arranged league game. This is also our club reunion with a buffet in the club house for anyone attending. The fun starts at 1:30pm with the Rovers Sedgefield game kicking off at 3pm. All 3 six nations games will be on the screens in the club. We look forward to seeing plenty of faces for this one.