A game of two halves it certainly was with Alnwick dominating the first and West the second. But countless opportunities went begging in the second forty minutes and it seemed like the game had gone when it was there for the taking.

When Martin Todd went over 5 minutes from the end but the conversion drifted wide it again seemed hopes of even a single point were dashed. But Andrew Davies had other ideas. A storming run down the touchline from well inside his own half saw him score in the corner and give West a fortunate victory which their second half dominance may have deserved even if their lack of finishing ability didn’t.

One change from the advertised line-up saw a not fully fit Mark Cholmondeley start the game with Ryan Phillips arriving late having had work commitments to take a place on the bench with a view to relieve Chummer after 20 minutes.

Injury returning Andrew Hare showed no ill-effects of his knee problem with a good run early on after Alnwick had started slightly the brighter. West got a couple of mauls going though and on 15 minutes powered one well over the line to leave a simple touchdown for Brett Cullinane who was carrying the ball at the back of the pack. Paul Moss failed with a wide conversion attempt.

The Alnwick pack responded quickly with a pushover try of their own 5 minutes later thanks to some astute kicking moving play into the West 22 and the visitors incapability to clear when given the opportunity. Rayner missed the conversion when the ball fell off the tee during his run up and left him no chance.

The hosts were enjoying the lion’s share of territory and possession although West were showing some promise when moving the ball wide and stretching the, at times, poorly organised defensive line. Alnwick took the lead when some poor tackling allowed first Gray then Currie to make breaks from the base of rucks and no mistake was made exploiting an overlap on the right, winger Middlemiss getting the try.

At half time it was starting to look like another sorry away trip for West with only one real attack to speak of and spending most of the half pinned back by accurate, long kicking. Things looked no better when the restart sailed straight into touch but the half time message had been clear – look to exploit the gaps out wide and don’t be afraid to run from deep.

West mounted some early pressure and Moss was successful with a penalty on 45 minutes following a good run from Martin Todd and a cynical killing of the ball by inside centre Kirkup. From the restart West looked wide immediately and Moss found Darren Thomas who in turn found Peter Hodgson who raced away from inside his own half. Looking favourite to win the race and score a superb try the Alnwick defence somehow got back and West were unable to bring anything more away from a significant period of pressure to start the half.

When Alnwick mounted their first real attack of the half and rumbled in for their second pushover try it seemed West would rue their missed opportunities even though there were still 20 minutes to play. However they kept to the game plan and looked to run at Alnwick at every opportunity with some success. But too many opportunities were going begging and when two huge overlaps were spurned and two penalties under the posts turned down it looked as though the old try line fever had returned.

But then that last 5 minutes. First Todd coming into the line well off his wing and beat the fullback to score but failed to leave Moss an easy conversion. When the kick drifted wide it looked as though the game was up but it was clear running from deep could create opportunities and when Thomas took a kick inside his own half and shipped the ball on down the line things started to open up. Dan Boatman looked to find Chocky out wide and when the ball went to ground it looked to go forward and spell the end of the attack. No whistle blew and the second row picked up, shrugging off two men to storm up the touchline all of 60 metres and slide in at the corner for the winning score.

West desperately needed these points and could have so easily come away without them rueing missed opportunities and poor attacking play. But sometimes things finally go your way and today was certainly one of those. Take nothing for granted though, on another day the second or third chance may not come and if golden opportunities are missed the game is over. A clinical attacking side could have run up a large score today, as it was the victory was by a mere three points and only secured with 1 minute left to play!

West: Thomas, Hare, Edwards, Hodgson, Todd, Moss, Tighe, Carr, Cullinane, Cholmondeley (Phillips), Rudd, Davies, D Boatman, Tones (J Boatman), Sawyer
Rep not used: Wallis

Tries: Cullinane, Todd, Davies
Pen: Moss

Alnwick: Moses, Middlemiss, Snaith, Kirkup, Wilson, Rayner, I Gray, Milburn, Hodgson, Allen, Currie, Fernback, D Gray, Lowe, Smith
Reps: A Armstrong, Winchup, Ord

Referee: Fraser Gill (Northumberland)
Pens: Alnwick 9 West 7