ROTTEN WEATHER: ROTTEN RESULT

Due to the state of the Moortown pitch this game was arranged to be played on the artificial pitch at nearby Yarnbury RUFC. with a kickoff time of 5.00pm following a previous game between Yarnbury and Barnsley.

With the Alikadoos having been deposited at Moortown the players were delivered to Yarnbury and left to do their preparation there with the coach returning to collect the Alikadoos.

Although the weather had been sunny and bright for most of the day there was a difficult cross wind and just before kickoff at 5.15pm it began to rain and it was bitterly cold.

Despite the deteriorating weather Kendal made a promising start with the players as named in the programme and Lewis Kincart, Dan Sharrock and Tom Moulton as subs.

From the Moortown kickoff the ball went dead and Kendal had a good period of play in the Moortown half before taking the lead after eleven minutes through a try under the posts by Mark Carruthers following a deft sidestep from Glen Weightman who duly converted.
Moortown 0pts Kendal 7pts.

This stirred Moortown into some determined running from their 6ft 3in winger who passed to their full back Mark Greenwood who powered over for their first score but the same player failed to convert.
Moortown 5pts Kendal 7pts.

With Moortown starting to get the upper hand their wing forward Xavier Martin made good ground through some poor tackling going over for their second try with the conversion by Mark Greenwood.
Moortown 12pts Kendal 7pts.

This spurred the Kendal pack into action and after recycling the ball over a dozen times failed to breech the Moortown defence.

After 38 minutes Danny Barker had to leave the field with suspected concussion and a very impressive 'shiner' - He was replaced by Dan Sharrock.

With the game well balanced and both teams using the wind to their advantage the score remained the same for the next quarter apart from a penalty by Glen Weightman.
Moortown 12pts Kendal 10pts.

Ben Dixon then had to leave the field due to a nasty gash to his forehead. With Lewis Kincart having exchanged with Jordan Johnson Tom Moulton came on and Steve Nelson went into the backs.

Although the Kendal forwards were beaten in the tight and lineout ball was proving difficult for both sides Kendal seemed to be gaining the upper hand and kept the opposition pinned in their own half until a long clearance kick was shepherded back from our own 22 by my man of the match Greg Wrathall.

Having survived this threat and the ever deteriorating conditions which were synonymous with the last three games in the Lakes plus snow flurries and driving rain we had taken Moortown back into their own 22 had control of the ball but for some inexplicable reason Glenn Weightman decided to attempt a highly improbable drop goal which was charged down and kicked through by Moortown. The retreating defence were unable to gather the ball which trickled over the try line for Moortown to touch down and convert.
Moortown 19pts Kendal 10pts.

This completely disheartened the players and we went on to concede a further converted try which did not reflect the game from which we had been looking to salvage a bonus point only minutes earlier.
Moortown 26pts Kendal 10pts.

This highlighted the problem which we have had in a few previous games when crucial decisions by key players have cost us bonus points which could prove invaluable come the end of the season.

Overall Kendal performed well with some good handling by Chris Park in particular in very difficult conditions but will be bitterly disappointed not to have come away with at least a point..

Final Score : MOORTOWN 26pts KENDAL 10pts

Your Kentdale Kendal Man of the Match : Greg Wrathall
Doug got it spot on. A bit of a landslide this week, seven other players did get a vote, but Greg got over six times the vote of anyone else, and over 60% of the total votes

Footnote

Dan Greenwood, made his 20th appearance of the season in the game at Moortown, the first time he has made 20 appearances for the First XV in a season. He made his debut as a substitute away at Harrogate in 2012, and prior to this season had made a total of 37 appearances, scoring one try,

Dan has played in every game so far this season, as have Glen Weightman and Robbie Collinson.

Two more players could make the 20 appearance mark for the first time in a fortnight at West Hartlepool, whilst another two could do it a week later at home against Bradford & Bingley. Two more could make it by the end of the season, but only if they play in the majority of the remaining games.