Penrith Panthers were involved in a try feast at Ryton when they lost an absolute thriller 40-36.
Despite the weather the game proved to be a great watch containing everything worth seeing in a rugby game.
Penrith started off strongly after Polly Bowman won a turn-over and moved it to Caitlin Wood who broke through the defence,
She passed on to Becca Grierson who was brought down on her way to the line.
From the breakdown Penrith won a penalty which Bowman took quickly and off-loaded to Katie Jackson who went over to score. Wood added the conversion.
This woke up Ryton and they scored two tries inside the first quarter to lead 14-7.
Bowman was quick to react to another penalty and she forced her way through two tackles to score.
The game went back and forth with both sides taking it in turns to score, as Ryton scored their third to lead 21-12.
The Panthers were next to score. Wood put a kick down field, chased it well and made her tackle. Helena Scullion followed up and won the turnover before off-loading to Julia Addison who went over to score. Wood converted and the deficit was only 21-19 at half time.
The second half continued with the same theme – they score, we score.
Ryton opened with a converted try before Penrith hit back.
At a scrum 20 metres out, number eight Bowman picked up and beat two defenders before being brought down by a high tackle this resulted in the referee awarding Penrith a penalty try.
Two minutes later Ryton scored another try so the onus was back on Penrith.
Scullion put in a long clearance kick and great pressure from the Panthers resulted in a turn-over. Scullion moved it wide to Chloe Capstick who used her pace to score in the corner.
Yet again Ryton were quick to reply taking the score to 40-31 with eight minutes to play.
The Panthers weren’t finished and were fighting hard for the win.
Meg Phillips-Craig made a great break through the midfield and was brought down with 15 metres to go. The ball was then moved wide to Capstick who once again used her pace to score in the corner.
The conversion failed and not long after the final whistle signalled a brave defeat for the Cumbrians.
Coach Jack Peet said: “Although the ladies are disappointed with the loss, they should be extremely proud of their performance. What a game! The effort from the whole squad was immense and they played some good rugby in wet conditions.”
Back of the match was Helena Scullion; forward of the match was Meg Phillips-Craig.
