Once again unavailability and injuries disrupted Aspatria’s plans for this rearranged visit to Hartlepool, where one of the league’s top 4 sides awaited the Black Reds.
Heinie Jonker and Jonathan Burnyeat were pulled out of the semi-retired pool, joining the less experienced Jonathan Miller and Dan Weir in the starting 15. Weir would produce a sensational spell of rugby in the second half to earn the man of the match award.
From very early in the contest it proved to be an uphill battle for Aspatria. Wests roaring into an early match winning lead that they never looked like relinquishing.
Countering this was a remarkable show of resilience from a patched-up Black Reds side that contested every battle and delivered a try bonus point that may yet prove vital in the battle to avoid relegation.
The game started badly for Aspatria. By minute 16 they had conceded 3 tries and lost a man to the sin bin. At 19-0 it was looking like a long day of muck and bullets for the visitors. The home rampage started early. With possession gained kickable penalties were declined in favour of chasing tries.
The 4th penalty in succession earned Burnyeat a yellow card and prime position for a successful tap and maul over the line.
The second score was entirely different. Wests used a crossfield kick to outflank the Aspatria defence and deliver a walk in score. Before Burnyeat could return to action Wests 3rd had been delivered by an attack out of the home half with pace that Aspatria could not counter.
A disastrous start for Aspatria but ignoring the damage on the scoreboard they began to fight back.
From the restart possession was regained by left wing Dan Weir fielding a clearing kick out of defence. Weir took the ball back into the home 22 and linked well with the waiting Aspatria backline. Centre, Heinie Jonker gained possession 10 meters out and proved unstoppable in delivering Aspatria’s opening try.
The try seemed to rattle Wests and they too had a man yellow carded for foul play. Aspatria took full advantage and with 22 minutes played Jack Clegg at stand-off glided past his opposite number to go under the posts and bring the score back to 19-14.
The mini revival stung Wests and they had the bulk of play for the remainder of the half. Into the last 10 minutes a fourth home score delivered the try bonus point.
The half time score of 24-14 provided some hope for Aspatria but this was soon dashed as another opening spell of power rugby from Wests punctured any illusion of a comeback.
Within the space of 6 minutes blistering attacks via the home forwards delivered tries 5 and 6. A 7th from a backs ploy came as the game crept into the final quarter with the score now an uneven 43-14, suggesting one-way traffic. This was not the case. When in possession Aspatria remained dogged and the Wests defence forced to work hard in countering the threat.
Aspatria’s reward for this effort to stay competitive was just around the corner in the form of a 12 minute hattrick from Dan Weir which delivered a try bonus point.
It was simply an amazing spell of rugby which owed much to Weir’s finishing skills.
All 3 tries were scored at the left wing corner flag and each one required multiple defenders to be beaten. Weir would point to the assistance he received from the centre partnership of Jonker and Regan Tinnion plus the timely interventions and ground made by fullback Grant Bethwaite joining the line but in the final yards, he was on his own and up to the task.
The scores were nearly identical. All involved Weir taking the ball outside or close to the home 22 and beating would be tacklers to squeeze over.
The first on 68 minutes and the last with the final move of the game.
Unfortunately for goal kicker Clegg, they were all touchline conversions and none succeeded. In between the 2nd and 3rd of Weir’s scores Wests touched down for their 8th of the day but really, few from Aspatria registered this as they celebrated a most unexpected point.
Aspatria stay 8th in the league on 30 points with 5 games to play. The current relegation candidates are Guisborough (15 pts) and Kirkby Lonsdale (10 points).
Prospects look bleak for Kirkby Lonsdale but a glance at the fixture list shows the Guisborough are certainly not without hope of escape as they come into a run of fixtures against several sides stuck in the bottom half of the table.
Next for Guisborough are Kirkby Lonsdale and then they face Carlisle, Upper Eden and Aspatria. A tough ask but they might not see it that way.
