London Skolars v. Gateshead Thunder

A desultry match - I could see the players wilting in the heat, and lethargically joining the scrum (as they often did due to the highly activist ref. who gave some, erm, odd decisions from time to time).

To be fair, the score belies the nature of the match - hard fought, with completed sets each way - but Skolars were bedevilled by indiscipline and gave aweay many early penalties - and Thunder were able to manage a few streaky breaks.

Even when London had repeated sets on the Tynesiders try line they couldn't punch their way through in the same manner that the visitors could manage.

The North eastern crowd was, of course, boisterous and loud - their chants of "We are top of the league" were, boastful, true and it turned out, justified.

But, hell, Skolars are off the bottom of the table, for a while at least.

London Skolars 18-44 Gateshead Thunder