Penrith’s two senior teams had their final warm-up game for the new season with a trip to West Hartlepool.
They took a squad of 20 that was a good mix of youth and experience but with only a sprinkling of seasoned first teamers.
The game was played in four 20 minute quarters and the north east side won a high-scoring game 52-41.
Penrith started well and in the third minute scrum-half Fraser Nicolson created space for stand-off Nick Dudson and he did not waste the chance racing in from half way.
Nicolson added the conversion but the home side were soon on level terms with a converted try of their own.
Good pressure on half-way then led to the visitors winning turn-over ball which Brad Taylor took advantage of running in broken play and scored from half-way.
The home side then came back and scored a good try created by their winger and their much larger pack then brought pressure to bear under the posts and a Penrith knock on at the scrum saw West score a third try to lead 21-12 after the first 20 minutes.
West scored first in the second quarter with a catch and drive from a line-out on the 22 to lead by 14 points but Penrith’s youngsters did not buckle.
They scored next following a flowing move from their own 22. They won a penalty in the visitor’s 22 which led to a successful forward drive for the corner and it was Lewis Elliot who came up with the try.
They then got within a score of West from turn-over ball. Jamie McNaughton made the break to beat the first line of defence and then released Nathan Allcock to claim the try.
The home side led 26-22 at half way but then Penrith had much the better of the third quarter and three tries saw them leading 33-41 after 60 minutes.
McNaughton created the first of the three tries when he found Mark Mason with a long pass which saw him go in at the corner.
From the restart Dylan Cowperthwaite, who had a really impressive game, gathered loose ball and from inside his own half scored a wonderful individual try, stepping the defence and showing a real turn of pace to run clear for the try.
McNaughton them got on the scoresheet himself via ball from a scrum five metres out.
The fourth quarter was then a bridge too far for Penrith’s youngsters. Up to then they had mitigated the size of the home pack but as they ran out of options in the final quarter with too many now sidelined with knocks, both the larger pack and the home side’s larger squad told.
The visitors effort did not diminish but they conceded three unanswered tries and ended up on the end of a rather unflattering score line they probably did not deserve.
It was, however, a very useful exercise and will have given a number of previously non first teamers a taste of what senior rugby is all about and an idea of the sort of challenge that will face them in the season ahead.
There were many bright spots and all the younger members of the squad acquitted themselves well with Dylan Thompson being the stand-out player of the new intake.
