Carlisle Cougars have opened their competitive season with an excellent 20-5 win at Darlington.
The teams were new to each other so didn’t really know what to expect from the respective opposition.
The first game of the season was always going to be a difficult one for the Carlisle side and Darlington did not make it easy for them in the first 20 minutes.
It was hard for the Cougars to get into the game but the tonic of a try raised confidence.
Hannah Wilkinson scored a try by consistently pushing forward with great determination to get the ball over the line.
With a slender lead going into the second half Carlisle knew they needed to step up their game and that’s exactly what they did.
Sarah Smyth claimed her first try for the Carlisle side to double the lead.
But Darlington rallied and they came back strongly to score a try of their own.
It could have been set up for a tense finish but the Cougars finished strongly and scored two further tries by Philippa Chadwick and Kia Borthwick to make sure of the points.
Both teams fought hard in difficult conditions and Carlisle, in particular, will be in good heart for their next game on October 16 at home to Blaydon (ko 2.30pm). They would appreciate as much support as possible.
Players of the match at Darlington were:
Forward, Hannah Gallagher and Back, Sarah Smyth.
