Cumbria Men’s team are out of the Bill Beaumont County Championship after a 43-12 defeat against Cheshire at Chester.
But the women’s challenge is very much alive as they scored a massive 97-0 win over Oxfordshire to set up a winner-takes-all clash with Essex this weekend.
The men had travelled to Chester with a changed line-up and despite falling behind early were level at 12-12 after half an hour.
Cheshire scored just before the interval and in the second-half were able to pull away to hold-off a spirited Cumbrian side who showed lots of commitment but couldn’t add to their tally in the second-half.
Alistair Thompson (Kendal) scored the first try and then, after a length of the field breakaway in which several players handled the ball, Rob Coward went over for the second try which he converted.
Cumbria had lost by a point to Staffordshire 26-25 at Kendal; beat Northumberland convincingly 47-17 at Carlisle, before losing 43-12 to Cheshire.
In the final table they finished third behind Cheshire and Staffordshire. They were level on points with Northumberland but had a better points differential.
In the Gill Burns Championship for the women Cumbria registered their record score at the week-end when they beat Oxfordshire 97-0.
They had previously beaten Staffordshire 50-28 and at the week-end travel to Essex for the Group decider.
So far Essex have beaten Oxfordshire 69-5 and they won 43-5 away against Staffordshire.
Cumbria scored 15 tries in their demolition of Oxfordshire at Upper Eden’s Pennine Park and were led by Hayley Hodgson of Kendal who scored four of them.
Nobody else managed a hat-trick but there were two touchdowns apiece for Philippa Chadwick (Carlisle), Josie Scrimgour (Carlisle) and Elizabeth Hodgson (Keswick).
The other Cumbria touchdowns came from Vanessa Hagen (Carlisle), Siobhan Lamb (Kendal), Sarah Smyth (Carlisle), Bethan Lloyd (Carlisle) and Juliet Porter (Workington).
Lucy Branthwaite (Upper Eden) landed seven conversions while Smyth kicked four.
