Keswick were 19-12 winners over Bishop Auckland in their first warm-up game at Davidson Park.
They complete the pre-season build-up at home to Lancaster University on Saturday and a week later start in earnest with the League opener, a derby clash at home to Cockermouth.
The game was divided into four 20-minute segments against Bishops and in the first quarter Keswick found their line out malfunctioning.
They were outcompeted on their own throw-in, which ended a few promising attacks.
Keswick had to play 10 minutes with 14 after losing a player to the bin for a poor tackle but it didn’t seem to affect them.
Indeed they took the lead on 12 minutes after opting for a five metre scrum instead of a penalty kick.
They ran the ball left and, despite being a man down, managed to create an overlap for Ryan Weir to score the first try of the season.
The second quarter saw Keswick penalised at a scrum in their 22 and having to defend as Bishop Auckland kept the ball tight with the forwards, winning another penalty and opting for a scrum.
From this they put pressure on the right and scored in the corner to draw level after 22 minutes.
They continued to force the pace and an attack down the left ended with them scoring close to the posts and the conversion gave them a12-5 lead at half-time.
The line-out continued to prove a challenge for both sides with Bishop Auckland overthrowing and Keswick not able to take full advantage. However, both sides were clearly improving as the game went on and their defences had more work to do.
The second yellow card went to Bishop Auckland, some players seeming to find it a challenge to adapt to the height restrictions on tackles.
This penalty relieved the pressure on Keswick and got them back to the opposition half where an excellent run by Weir, who passed to George Holme, was stopped short of the line by an interception.
With 20 minutes left, Keswick had some work to do but they did get back on terms early in the final quarter.
Keswick ran the ball right from the back of a line-out for full-back Andy Wallace to come into the line, cut inside, and score under the posts. Lewis Thompson converted.
With ten minutes left they scored what proved to be the winning try. Brought back for a penalty, it was kicked to touch, won in the line out and kept by the forwards who drove over for a try scored by Aaron Thompson. It was successfully converted by Lewis Thompson.
