Anyone who thinks that rugby is dying out at grassroots level in the South Lakes should have been at the local derby on Saturday.
Ambleside hosted Windermere at Galava Park and came out on top 19-14 after a hard-fought and hugely entertaining contest.
Both villages had brought plenty of supporters to cheer on their respective teams and despite a typical Cumbria winter’s day weather the club house and car park were bursting at the seams.
Both teams had a full complement of players, and both had some key names missing through injury.
The first ten minutes of the game were spent exchanging pleasantries with the strong Windermere pack led by captain Danny Harrison taking the game to the young lads of Ambleside.
Once Ambleside had absorbed the pressure Jack Akrigg started to release the Ambleside backs and after continued pressure on the Windermere line a penalty was awarded.
Unfortunately, Ambleside’s marksman Red Marshall slipped as he attempted to kick and the ball drifted wide.
Roared on by the crowd, both teams upped the pace, and no quarter was given by either side until a crafty grubber kick into the Windermere in goal area was pounced on by Akrigg right under the posts. Marshall converted.
Spurred on by the try and lifted by their supported Ambleside continued to try and run the ball and throw it out to the wingers despite the heavy conditions.
Windermere lost a player for 10 minutes when Hector Westmorland-Nicholson was unlucky to be yellow carded for an innocuous high tackle. With a man advantage out wide Ambleside spun the ball out to young winger Sam Kennelly who dived over in the corner to help them into a 12-0 lead at half-time.
Strong words from Windermere skipper Harrison at half time had the desired effect as they hit Ambleside with everything they had in the first five minutes of the second half. After a clever kick through by Windermere fly half Josh Waters into the dead ball area the winger Matty Howarth pounced on the loose ball and Waters converted from the touchline to reduce the deficit.
The Windermere supporters made their voices heard and this spurred the team on yet again, but Ambleside’s team had been battered and bullied all season and now showed a resilience and toughness the home supporters had not witnessed previously.
Bone crunching tackles came flying in and unfortunately one of them from Josh Wright ended up with Jamie Irwin left flat out with a broken nose. It earned Wright ten minutes cooling his heels on the side lines.
Windermere took the advantage of the extra man and pressed for a try to take the lead. The pressure told and when Orlando Hogg took exception after being on the wrong end of a high tackle, he expressed his displeasure in a way the referee took exception too and was shown a red card, just as Wright returned to the fray.
The pressure finally told on Ambleside’s line and Callam Hayes crashed over with Josh Waters converting to put Windermere ahead 14-12.
At the start of the season this is where Ambleside would have crumbled but with a strong bench, they sent on the ‘Bomb squad’ led by Huw Evans the Welsh Dragon to breath fire and life back into the Ambleside forwards.
It worked and back came the Centurions battering away at the Windermere line, but with no success as the visitors held firm.
Ambleside decided not to kick for goal when awarded two consecutive penalties and feeding on the energy from the home crowd a quick tap from Ambleside captain Francisco Cruz Hall driving to the line to set up a ruck worked like a dream as Akrigg crashed over for his second try, which he then converted to re-take the lead at 19-14.
Windermere never gave up and after withstanding the last three minutes of pressure Ambleside could finally breathe a sigh of relief as they ran out worthy winners for the first time in 25 years against their closest rivals.
The game was physical and intense as expected but played in a fantastic spirit in front of a bumper crowd.
The stars of the show for Ambleside were the back row who will be giving opposing half backs nightmares for the next five months of the season. For Windermere Dan Harrison played for 80 minutes with a spirit that inspired his team to never give up right up to the final whistle.
After the game in the clubhouse the rivalries and laughter lasted well into the night, and everyone agreed the real winner on the day was grassroots rugby.
One thing is for sure Windermere will be ready and waiting for the return at their place on January 18 and Ambleside had better train hard over Christmas to run off that turkey otherwise Windermere will gobble them up to take their revenge.
