First XV Overcome Spirited Carlisle

After some weekends of winter weather, conditions were close to ideal.

Kendal appeared to have made an excellent start, as Billy Coxon burst away with the ball from the kick off, but was called back for a Carlisle penalty. This was put to touch and Carlisle won the lineout, and attacked the Kendal line, forcing Kendal to concede another penalty. Carlisle keep the pressure on, with excellent handing and recycling of the ball, but finally Kendal held up the Carlisle attack, to win a scrum.

Garry Holmes, playing in the back row, broke away from the scrum, and having made ground, fed Mark Carruthers who headed up field to halfway, to ease pressure.

Kendal opened the score after ten minutes. Glenn Weightman put a kick across field, which seemed to be too long, but he had judged it perfectly, as Dini Noyo gathered. Whilst he was stopped, he managed to get the pass away to Garry Holmes in support, to score on the left. 5v0

The lead was doubled five minutes later. Nathan Wooff made a break to the line on the right. The forwards took the ball on, but when they could not get across, the ball was moved left. A long pass seemed to have gone loose, but again Dini Noyo tidied up, to gather and score in the corner. Glen Weightman’s difficult conversion kick came back off the post. 10v0

Kendal scored again five minutes later. Chris Park made a break from within his own half, and when he was stopped, Billy Coxon broke away. Rather than go for the line himself, he fed James Gough, but Carlisle had anticipated the pass and held him up. The referee penalised Carlisle with Glen Weightman putting over the penalty. 13v0.

Richard Harryman was forced off, to be replaced by Chris Downham, with Garry Holmes moving into the front row, and Duncan Green to prop.

Whilst behind on the scoreboard, Carlisle were playing well whenever they had the ball in hand, keeping it through multiple phases at speed, but the Kendal defence was more than a match.

After half an hour, Bob Mataia was yellow carded for illegally stopping a Carlisle attack, and Carlisle fullback Damian Armstrong opened the their scoring with the penalty. 13v3.

Carlisle continued to put pressure on Kendal, and just before halftime, after Kendal had been awarded a penalty on their own line, there was an altercation between James Gough and Carlisle second row Paul Halliday (?) and both were issued with yellow cards.

Kendal started the second half well, and after they had turned over Carlisle ball, Glenn Weightman extended the Kendal lead with a well struck drop goal. 16v3.

Carlisle kept playing their high tempo game, but could not find any way through the Kendal defence.

After ten minutes, Chris Park was replaced on the right wing by Alistair Thompson.

After withstanding the Carlisle pressure, Kendal set up some of their own, and forced a string of penalties to put Carlisle under pressure on their own line. Billy Coxon ran a penalty near the line, and the forwards took the ball on, with Garry Holmes emerging with the try. 21v3

With twenty minutes to play Kendal made a further change with Robbie Collinson replacing Chris Downham, who had made an impact after coming on as a substitute, but was getting involved in a number of altercations with Carlisle forwards.

With ten minutes to play, Kendal final got the all important fourth try, to gain a bonus point. Duncan Green and James Gough made ground in the Carlisle twenty two, and when the ball came out Nathan Wooff powered through, and whilst stopped near the line, he managed to stretch over and ground the ball. 26v3.

The fifth try came from a lineout, the forwards drove to the line, and again it was Garry Holmes who emerged with the ball, for his thirteenth try in the last five games.

Carlisle finished the game on the attack, and were finally rewarded with the final play of the game, with a converted try. 31v10.

Another hard working win, with the defensive display as important as the attack.

KENDAL MAN OF THE MATCH : (as voted for by website readers) Nathan Wooff

Referee : Steven Turnbull (Scottish R.U.)