Nuneaton 21 Tynedale 20

NUNEATON ended a run of four straight National One defeats with a sterling second-half fightback as they overcame Tynedale 21-20 in a tight encounter. Mike Umaga’s men trailed 20-3 at the break after having a strong wind in their faces, but turned the game on its head with 18 unanswered second-half points - Huw Thomas kicking the winning points three minutes from time. Nuns fell behind

early doors with a penalty try under the posts for Tynedale which was converted by Ashley Smith, before hooker Joe Graham went over three minutes later.

Smith then sent a drop-goal sailing over moments later, before Graham touched down once again for his second try of the afternoon.

Thomas got Nuns on the sheet prior to the interval, and Mickey Moore made things a little more interesting when he scored almost immediately after the restart.

Thomas then kicked a monster penalty before Elliott Brown scored in the corner to bring Nuns close.

Tynedale missed an easy opportunity to make the game safe, and Thomas made them pay and ultimately finished off an amazing comeback when Tynedale were penalised from not rolling away from a maul.

Said Umaga: “It was a good performance and I’m really happy with the result, as it’s not nice to lose four games on the spin. I’ve said all along that a one point margin is good enough for a win, and if we win every week by one point, then I’d be a very happy man.”

He added: “The guys can hold their heads high and stick their chests out after a comeback like that, and it shows the spirit and resilience within our camp. There were a few defensive lapses at times, but we can use this victory as a building block to kick-on from – we’d be foolish not to.”