Washington travelled to Gosforth to play their second team - the first time in many years Gosforth have been able to put out two teams over the weekend and we were told one of the first games to be played under the lights.

The Washington squad featured three players who have come through the 'beginners return to rugby' programme from the summer. Johnny and Jack started in the midfield with Micky making a second half appearance. It was great to see some players returning to the fold for their first game in some time with Callum Stevens, Rodgers and Tally returning to the yellow and blue - all making fantastic contributions in the game. Especially Tally who tells me he ran the game like a 'Mexican version of Dupont'.

With the fine rain that 'soaks you through' providing the context of the game, the first half was a scrappy affair. Washington making good ground across the pitch but would often be let down with knock ons (which we will come to later) and cheap penalties hindering their progress. Gosforth opened the scoring on 8 minutes with a breakaway however Washington soon worked out their strengths within the game, coming from the strong and experienced front 8. With the scrum dominant throughout a theme of the contest, at this point we would like to refuse all allegations that our scrum half Tally would let one rip before every scrum engagement. DoR Dom Ryan brought Washington level (with con from Nico) which seemed to spur the lads on. Special mention at this point goes to Jonny and Jack in the centres. Both new to the club and game, they demonstrated they deserved to be on the pitch with some excellent attacking running and defending. Absolutely great shift from the lads and if this is a sign of things to come, Washington have two great players on their hands. On 36 minutes, Mike Reilly rolled back the years with his trademark quick tap penalty from 22m out from Gosforth's try like however as glory beckoned, he decided he didn't fancy scoring this time and knocked it on over the line in the most spectacular fashion. Never out of the headlines, Reilly demonstrated his other trademark 'bouncebackability' 1 minute later as he finished off a dominant push over scrum try.

Half time - 14 - 14

Words of 'wisdom' from the coaching team sent Washy into the second half with the belief of a win but it was Gosforth who would pull away with two unanswered tries in the first 5 minutes of the second half. The second half saw another debut, Micky who joined the lads on the wing in replacement for Callum who had put in a great shift on the wing, working hard on and off the ball. It's says a lot about a player when their first involvement is to get over a ruck to secure the ball which led to a Washington try to bring us back into it - excellent to see Micky.

Dom said it best in his summary of the game 'many teams would crumble but we battled it out' as Washy's front 8 continued to cause real issues bringing them within 5 points of the draw with 5 minutes to go. Then the moment arrived, another number 8 try brought Washington level and Nico showed his leadership skills with the conversion to take Washington into the lead. The game was not over by any shot. With Washington down to 14 men with a yellow card issued, they showed the grit, heart and determination to grind out the final minutes. This was epitomised by Kev Lamb. Gosforth clearing the ball and with their newly promoted colt back line chased him down, he calmly collected the ball at full back, skipped through three tackles on the way and took it forward over 50m to secure into the forwards.

Many thanks to Micky (Gosforth) who joined us through the game to make sure we were able to play a full XV game.

Thank you to the referee who understood the assignment well, kept the game flowing and made sure good rugby was played by both sides.

Well done to our new boys - Jack, Jonny and Micky. Class to see you on the field and hopefully the start of many more for Washy.

Finally, many thanks to Gosforth. Your hospitality was excellent and we hope we contributed well to your first second team game in years. It's fantastic to see your club growing and we hope to see you in a fixture very soon to return your hospitality. All the best for your next three games and we hope they are as successful as tonight has been. It was great to meet some of your volunteers who were nothing but complimentary about the game and the social rugby on show. This is what rugby is all about.

Washington - this felt like the start to the season we deserved for all the hard work put in over the summer. It's time to kick on and get to training and matchdays to build on this.

Man of the Match - Liam Nicholson
Dick of the day - Mike Reilly