Aspatria’s Bower Park will stage the delayed County Cup final on Saturday as holders Penrith and Carlisle meet to decide the outcome of the trophy for 2023/24.
Penrith will start as firm favourites, playing two levels higher than Carlisle this season and have been playing regularly up to two weeks ago while Carlisle are desperately short of match practice.
But Carlisle have won promotion as champions of Counties 1 Cumbria and they did beat Aspatria, from a level higher, in the semi-final.
It looked two weeks ago as though the trophy would be retained by the Winters Park club without any contest and it has to be said both clubs are pleased that it will be settled on the field.
The Cumbria Cup final used to be the centre-piece of the season for the county’s clubs but has sadly lost it’s importance through the advancement of League rugby.
However, last season’s final – a much anticipated derby clash between Penrith and Upper Eden – attracted a 1,500 crowd to Kendal’s Mint Bridge.
Saturday’s kick-off at Bower Park is 3pm and although the attendance will be nowhere like last year, county officials are hoping for a good turn-out.
The County Cup has not been sponsored for a number of years, which is understandable because of how it has declined in recent years.
It’s unlikely the Papa John big wigs will be interested in extending their present deal with the RFU given how the competition is being poorly supported. Already it is being labelled the Mickey Mouse Cup – and that is a real shame.
Last week concerns were expressed on Cumbria Crack by long-time rugby union lovers about how the game was shrinking in Cumbria.
Since then there has been considerable agreement on their assessment and some ideas are going to be floated before the next clubs’ meeting on May 7.
One of them actually refers specifically to the County Cup and radical changes have already been expressed about the competition.
Senior referee Mike Firby, like other concerned stalwarts of the game who have been involved for close-on or over 60 years, has an idea on how it might be run.
“The present Cumbria Cup is not working but any re-jig needs to still involve all clubs but avoid large mismatches and get games played.
“Our suggestion is a first round of level 8 League clubs and if agreed this could be on a home and away basis with aggregate score counting to progress.
“This would give another home game as there are less and less each season.
“Round two would consist of level 7 teams plus the last two level 8 teams from the previous round.
“Round three would see the entry of level 6 sides plus the last two teams from the previous round.
“In round four it would be level 5 plus the last two teams from the previous round and then on to the semi finals and final.
“We have started this debate to prompt more thoughts and ideas from all clubs. The lack of games is affecting their future and the future of players.”
The original venue for tomorrow’s final had been Wigton’s Lowmoor Road but the Greens have a big Papa John’s Cup match at home to Yorkshire 1 runners-up Wetherby, confirmed this week as earning promotion.
That’s a big game for the Greens, especially as they are another of the sides who just haven’t been able to play enough matches since February.
There’s one other Papa John’s Cup game in the county which will see Keswick go head-to-head with Kirkby Lonsdale at Davidson Park.
The winners of these two ties go into their respective semi-finals to be played on May 4.
The winners of the Wigton game will be at home to the winners of Wenslydale v Bradford Salem. It was Salem who pipped Wetherby by a point to the Yorkshire 1 title.
The winners of Keswick v Kirkby Lonsdale will be at home to West Hartlepool, no strangers to Davidson Park having been beaten there in the last League game of the season.
The various finals will be played over the weekend of May 11 and 12 at Darlington’s Mowden Park.
The county final at Bower Park on Saturday will be controlled by referee Martin Denvir, and his two men on the line will be Alan Jenkinson and Alistair Jones.
Simon Barker is the referee for the Wigton v Wetherby game while Martin Maughan has the Keswick v Kirkby Lonsdale tie.
The last of the County Age Grade finals is for Under-15s and will be played at Windermere on Sunday (3pm) with Jim Donald in the middle for Kendal v Kirkby Lonsdale.
