Workington Zebra Finches delivered a statement to their RFU North 2 rivals as they began their league campaign with a superb 22-0 victory over Ryton Roses, writes John Hastings.
The cold and breezy conditions at The Ellis were a sharp contrast to the warm and glorious sunshine at Twickenham in May when the Finches won national glory.
But this did not deter the Finches as they produced a genuine all-round performance, with every player putting in a shift.
From the opening whistle, Workington swamped their opponents half and it only took them seven minutes to break the deadlock as from a winning line-out, Beth Adams powered her way like a bull in a pottery shop to power over for the opening try, which Nicole Stewart converted.
The rest of the first half was dominated by extensive periods of both sides cancelling out each other through resolute defending and doughty scrummaging.
Despite this, Workington did have a couple of chances to increase their lead with Adams and captain Lottie Cammack going close, only to be thwarted by Ryton with the try-line just out of reach.
In return, the Roses had their moments – especially from Alison Meek, Jessica Clabby and Marcella Connolly – but just as they created inroads into Finches territory, so they were undone by careless knock-ons and that sturdy Workington backline.
The second half began with both sides again deploying a containment policy, but it was the Finches who shattered this on 53 minutes.
After a successful scrum, it was Stewart who subsequently received the ball and then slalomed her way through the flummoxed Ryton defence to touch down for a well taken try, although she was most unlucky to see her conversion fall short.
Ryton had little time to recover from this when they fell further behind on the hour when another well drilled scrum ended with Rose Cleaton rolling back the years as she snaffled the ball and thrust forward to score Finches’ third try of the afternoon. Another unsuccessful conversion attempt followed.
At last, the Roses began to play and launched a few more waves into Workington’s half, but again were continually ground down by the uncompromising Finches defence.
With Stephanie Radcliffe and new girl Caitlin Jenkinson causing mischief on their respective wings, it was inevitable that another try would follow and that followed seven minutes from time as Sophie Bowness laced a killer pass to Jenkinson, who sprinted clear to mark her debut with a try that not only sealed victory but also a crucial bonus point.
Once again, the conversion attempt fell short, but it was academic with the points safely banked and Workington closed out proceedings by securing a clean sheet.
Having lost to Ryton home and away last season, it was a victory that tasted very sweet indeed.
As mentioned before, every player delivered – captain Lottie Cammack led by example again, while Caitlin Jenkinson is going to be a handful for opponents over the next several months while Jen Morton slipped effortlessly into the front row at tight head.
Beth Adams was a cactus in the side of Ryton as she made her presence felt at all times and her lock partnership with Beth Sunderland was both solid and efficient.
Workington have a deserved week’s rest before travelling to Keswick Falcons in the RFU Junior Cup.
