Macclesfield head coach Giles Heagerty was thrilled to have returned home with his side’s second victory of the season after their trip to second-bottom side Tynedale.

The Blues won 22-20 in a hard-fought scrappy affair at Tynedale Park.

Despite victory, Heagerty was a little disappointed not to secure the four-try bonus point, which would have also seen them deny Tynedale anything from the afternoon.

“Tynedale is a tough place to go,” said Heagerty. “It was not the most entertaining of rugby games, although not getting the five points does take a bit away from it, the way the game panned out.

“But at the end of the day it’s a win.”

The Blues had the chances to secure that bonus point but unforced errors saw them squandered when they had been deep in Tynedale territory.

“Things seemed a little off today for some reason,” added the coach (below).

“Our consistency and timing wasn’t quite right but I wouldn’t put that down to changes in personnel, the game was very stop-start and that doesn’t help.

“Tyne were competitive at the breakdown and that stopped us from getting going.”

The 20 points the Blues conceded was their best defensive display of the season and the second half saw barely a penalty conceded, something which pleased Heagerty after his side’s defence and discipline had come under scrutiny over the season.

“The coaches and I were talking in the warm-up that we had a real intensity about us today, and that showed in our defence throughout the match and especially after we had kicked the goal to win the game.

“The way we defended after that was fantastic, we really dug deep.”

The Blues welcomed back Marshall Gadd to their starting line-up. The man on loan from Rotherham was part of a Blues pack that dominated the scrum for 80 minutes on Saturday.

“Marsh is a great player, it’s not just what he does on the field but off it,” added Heagerty. “We have had to jiggle around today because of injuries throughout the match; we had props in the second and back row,but the pack as an eight at all times today were very good.”

Macclesfield face the table-toppers, big-spending Ealing Trailfinders this Saturday, which is sure to be a stern test, but with a bit of momentum, Heagerty feels his side shouldn’t be written off, insisting: “It will be very tough, but they have been in some very tight affairs and Cinderford showed the blueprint for beating them. We must focus on our performance and processes, especially in defence and get our shape right, we must realise we have a real opportunity.”

Tom Morton, the young fly-half on loan from Sale Sharks, has been called up to the England Under-20 squad for their Six Nations campaign. Having played under Heagerty before the coach isn’t surprised by his eye-catching form.

“He’s always been a special talent,” he said. “I think from our point of view he’s come in and done a really good job.

“A selector was at the Esher match and he had a fantastic game that day.

“It’s difficult because you always want to keep hold of your best players and Tom is certainly one of our better players.

“You don’t want to lose him but to go and be involved in the Under-20s Six Nations is fantastic.”