Kendal Senior Colts have reached the semi-final of the Halbro Colts Under-18s Senior Plate competition.
They beat Preston Grasshoppers 27-19 in the quarter-final, which was the third time the sides have met this season.
Kendal, who have combined their junior and senior Colts, travelled to the Hoppers and led 22-7 at the interval after tries from Judah Hicks, Robbie Kincart and Nathan Halhead. There were two conversions and a penalty from Aaron Stephens.
The second-half was a tighter affair, with Hoppers going over for two tries, one of which was converted, but a try from Kian Barsby settled the tie for Kendal.
Kendal now progresses to the semi-final and on Sunday, April 10 will play the winners of New Brighton Senior Under-18s Colts and Southport Senior Under-18s Colts, which is scheduled to be played on Sunday April 3.
The Colts success was the highlight of a busy week-end for Kendal’s youth section.
On a perfect day for rugby, Kendal Under-15s welcomed Penrith Under-15s to Mint Bridge.
There was some outstanding play from both sides in what was an open game that either side could have won but it finished 38-24 to Kendal.
Riley Moore was the match hero for Kendal, contributing five tries and a conversion.
Jack Carradice also scored a try while Calum Tilsley landed three conversions. Kendal player of the match was Frank Stalker.
The Under-15s are starting to build momentum in readiness for their game against Carlisle this Friday.
The fixture was reversed for the club’s Under-14s with Kendal travelling to Winters Park.
Recent injuries and a bout of COVID-19 restricted availability so that Kendal only travelled with 11 but Penrith very kindly loaned a few players so the game could go ahead.
Penrith had the brighter start exploiting space out wide which resulted in the first two tries. From the restart Kendal pressed hard and collected the loose ball to score a try. The remainder of the first half firmly belonged to Penrith where they scored a further two tries without reply.
The second half was much more competitive but Penrith ran out 33-19 winners.
The two clubs also met at Under-13s level and it was Kendal who earned the win by four tries to one.
Having lost to Penrith earlier in the season, the hard work all the players have put in during training sessions in the few months since that game made for a much more competitive game.
The foundation for the victory came from a committed and much more organised defensive display where no player wanted to let their teammates down in a game that really could have gone either way.
This allowed them to take advantage of good possession play and score the tries to take them to victory. There was some excellent rugby and the match was played in a competitive and supportive spirit that all coaches and parents were rightly proud of – especially all the Mums on Mothering Sunday.
In the clash of the clubs’ Under-12s Kendal emerged 40-5 winners but Penrith played well and contributed to a physical and challenging match.
Kendal worked hard to win back possession and there were some brilliant individual tries. They played well as a team with everyone contributing in both defence and attack.
