Old Blue and Dallas were hungry for a win this weekend and neither got what they wanted, as the two teams battled in Big D to an improbably 40-40 tie.

Old Blue has to be ruing those last-second kicks. Last week they lost 27-25 to Life after a last-second kick was missed that could have tied the game. This week the winning kick couldn’t quite get there.

Old Blue scored early. A grubber kick bounced perfectly for Old Blue winger Fitzjames Adams for the opening try. Ashley Moeke then extended the lead with an easy penalty. But the Harlequins came back. Center Spencer Cameron scored to make it 8-7.

Another Moeke penalty brought the score to 11-7, before an interception and long run had Dallas right on the line.

Repeated penalties earned an Old Blue flanker ten minutes rest in the bin, and Shawn Begg closed to gap to one point with the penalty.

Another Harlequins break led to a try and a 17-11 Dallas lead. Old Blue came back with a score and Moeke nailed the sideline conversion.

With another Old Blue yellow card putting Dallas a man up, Begg hit another penalty to give his team a 20-18 halftime lead.

In the second half, another try from Spencer Cameron and accurate placekicking stretched the Dallas lead to fifteen points at 18-33. Old Blue scored a try through Will Brazier, but Dallas replied with a converted try. With less than fifteen minutes left, the game seemed in the bag for Dallas, but Old Blue had other ideas. First a close range try from Mark Griffith narrowed the gap, then Old Blue were awarded a penalty try after repeated penalties by Dallas. Those penalties also resulted in another yellow card and suddenly Old Blue were only five points adrift.

The restart after the penalty try went directly into touch, and Old Blue opted for the scrum center. Old Blue went on the blind side, and simple hands sent Fitzjames Adams free down the touchline.  Adams beat a string of would-be tacklers to score in the corner to tie the game.

The sideline conversion fell short and the game ended in a 40-40 tie.

“The result was good,” said Dallas club president John Dale. “We had a lot of positives from the game. Our multi phase possession was better, got good go-forward and broke the gainline several times and turned it into points.”

Dale said that despite the 40 points given up, the Dallas defense was much improved. It was only in the final ten minutes that things really became problematic.

“Old Blue never gave up,” he said.