1st XV
Matches
Sat 07 Sep 2013  ·  North 1 West
Wirral
73
15
Kendal R.U.F.C.
1st XV
Tries: J PostlethwaiteConversions: C ParkPenalties: C Park
More of the same as First XV Slump to Heavy Away Defeat

More of the same as First XV Slump to Heavy Away Defeat

Mark Hodgkiss8 Sep 2013 - 10:33
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Kendal went to Wirral in search of a first away win since April 2011, but were well beaten by excellent performance, both in attack and defence, from the home team.

Wirral made the better start and took the lead after just five minutes with a break from fullback James Annetts, who evade some weak tackling, before committing Kendal’s last defender Chris Park, and giving the scoring pass to left wing Ali Baker, outside half Dan Harvey converted 7v0.

They doubled their lead after ten minutes. A long kick through was knocked on by Chris Park, and from the resulting scrum, Wirral moved the quickly into midfield where flanker Rob Pearl went over for the try. Harvey converted 14v0.

Another try look certain when the Kendal defence was again opened up, but Kendal were let off, as a pass went to ground.

Kendal were slowly coming back in to the game, and with twenty minutes played, outside half James Gough put a long kick through to the line. A Wirral defender looked as if he had it covered, but left wing Jamie Postlethwaite was able to get to the ball first for the try. Chris Park was unable to convert into a strong cross wind. 14v5.

After half an hour, a wayward pass from a scrum, caused panic in the Wirral defence, James Gough got to the ball first and Wirral gave away a penalty for offside, which Chris Park converted 14v8.

For once the Kendal line out was working well, taking both their own, and occasionally some of their opponents ball, and backs and forwards were beginning to combining well and drew a number of penalties from the Wirral defence. Twice the ball was put to touch, and from the second line out, the forwards drove to the line for a try from Andrew Hudson (?), Park converted from close to the touchline and Kendal had the lead 14v15

Wirral almost re-took the lead immediately, with a break down the left wing, but Chris Park made a tackle on the try line, and fortunately the pass was fumbled.

The relief was short lived. The Kendal kick from defence after the resulting scrum, made little distance, and from the line out, instead of keeping the ball tight, Wirral quickly move the ball across the field for fullback James Annetts to evade some poor tackling to score. 19v15.

Things got worse for Kendal from the restart. Wirral outside half Dan Harvey made a stunning solo break, outpacing the Kendal defence to score near the right hand corner, then got up to put over a conversion from close to the touchline, to give his team a 26v15 half time lead.

Playing with the aid of the slope, and with the wind behind them, the deficit still did not look insurmountable for Kendal, but they made a dreadful start to the second half.

A Kendal mistake at the re-start, gave Wirral a scrum on halfway. The ball was moved quickly to fullback Annetts, and whilst he slipped having made a break, the move was taken on by No8 Keith Mahon, with right wing Matt Loon finishing the move, for the try, with Harvey converting 33v15. Kendal No.8 Andrew Hudson also had to leave the field and was replaced by Ben Leacock.

Five minutes later Wirral extended their lead with a try from No.8 Mahon, after the Kendal pack had been penalised for obstruction, as they drove out of defence. 38v15

Kendal did come back into the game, and after being awarded a penalty, Dan Lowther put a kick to the corner, but the referee again penalised the Kendal pack for obstruction from the resulting drive.

After a quarter of an hour, as Kendal tried to run out of defence, a loose pass was intercepted for a move ended by left wing Ali Baker 45v15 with a conversion from Harvey.

Wirral then went off the boil for ten minutes, but a strong defence kept Kendal penned in their own half.

The scoring started again with a second try for fullback James Annetts, converted by Harvey 50v15. This was quickly followed by a second try from right wing Matt Loon, this time converted by centre Craig Harvey 57v15.

A break from flanker Rob Pearl saw him score again, with Craig Harvey converting again 64v15.

The final try came from what initially appeared a good kick out defence from Kendal, it was field by fullback Annett, who returned it with his own kick, which he fielded himself, to set up left wing Baker for his third try, 73v15.

Whilst the Kendal coaches will be worried about the frailty of the backs in defence and the stamina of the forwards, who for a third game wilted badly in the second half, the score line reflects more an excellent Wirral display, with the ball being moved to their lightening backs at almost every opportunity, coupled with a rock solid defensive performance whenever Kendal had the ball.

All is not lost for next weekend, as at the end of last season, the team came back from the drubbing at Sandal, for an excellent performance and win against Billingham the next weekend.

From the announced Kendal squad, Jamie Postlethwaite replaced Leo Mercer at 11, and James Thompson replaced Liam Nicholson at 7. Their places on the bench were taken by Ben Leacock and Warren Tilsley
The referee was James Campbell of the Liverpool Society.

Match details

Match date

Sat 07 Sep 2013

Kickoff

15:00

Meet time

11:15

Location

Instructions

All players meet at Mint Bridge with officials & supporters
CLUB POSTCODE is CH63 0LT

Competition

North 1 West
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Club Sponsor - Kentdale  Jaguar Land Rover
Match Ball Sponsor - Rathbones Investment Management
Shirt & Shorts Sponsor - Kendalife
Club Sponsor - Lakeland
Club Sponsor - Saint & Co
Club Sponsor - MTP Media
Casual Shirt Sponsor - Bainbridge Electrical Ltd
Shirt & Position Sponsor - Steve Selby Building Contractors
Next Door Neighbours - Camping & Caravanning Club: Kendal
Shirt Sponsor - MGD Commercial and Motor Services
Club Sponsor - Crema Catering Supplies Ltd.