Not for a long time can anyone at Ambleside RUFC remember the club winning two consecutive league games.
But over the last two seasons things have changed for the better under new young head coach Matty Kaye.
The club has risen from the ashes and every week the players get better and stronger as a team having been through the fire at the start of the season.
Workington came to Galava Park on Saturday just one league position below The Centurions, and having been unlucky to narrowly lose to Millom the week before after scoring 31 points but conceding a try in the last five minutes.
From the Ambleside kick off the home team played well structured phased rugby through the forwards frequently releasing the backs to cut loose down field.
Ambleside dominated the majority of possession and territory and it wasn’t long before general Jack Akrigg pounced on a clever grubber kick to open the scoring under the posts. Red Marshall missed from directly in front of the sticks to let Workington off the extra two points.
At this point Workington changed the game plan and played a constant pick and go game in the forwards, with the backs playing a totally flat line in attack and defence until they had managed to muscle their way into the Ambleside 22.
At half time Ambleside made a couple of changes but Workington stuck to their tried and tested game plan from the end of the first half. Both teams began to get frustrated, and Ambleside conceded two quick penalties that the Workington fly half Brandon Walker converted beautifully to edge the Zebras ahead 6-5.
This seemed to bring Ambleside to their senses and again they began to throw the ball out to the backs.
Sustained pressure on the Workington line finally resulted in Josh Wright-Stevenson crashing over for what was the winning try to Ambleside at 10-6.
In the forwards Cunningham, Robinson, Bayliss and Bramwell stood out and a special mention must go to the Ambleside wingers who for the first time this season helped shore up the defence and play the full eighty minutes without the home team conceding a single try.
A massive shout out to all the players and supporters who travelled from Workington. It was such a close game which could have gone either way up to the final minute. Ambleside are very much look forward to the return game next year.
If only 12 months ago someone would have told the Ambleside executive committee that at the halfway stage of the Cumbria One league at Christmas 2025 the team would be above Aspatria 2s, Workington and local rivals Windermere nobody would have believed them.
The Centurions now get a deserved rest for a couple of weeks over Christmas and all eyes will be on the return game just down the road with friends and neighbours Windermere on January 18.
