The revised national competition, formerly sponsored by Papa John’s, does not appear to have caught on.
The RFU have reported this morning that over 70 first round games have been called off.
Yet the first round was constructed whereby clubs would play neighbours to minimise travel costs.
Now known as the Community Plate as far as Counties 1 Cumbria is concerned, just two ties survive – Whitehaven v St Benedict’s (referee Paddy Loughhran) and Windermere v Ambleside (Danny Airey).
Called off were Egremont v Millom and Cockermouth v Workington.
It has been reported that the game at Egremont was cancelled because of the crab fair this weekend, while the Zebras were unable to raise a team for the trip to Strawberry How.
Workington’s inability to field a team at Cockermouth, a fortnight after losing their opening game 84-0 to Carlisle, sounded ominous.
Cumbria Crack’s John Walsh spoke to Workington team manager Kevin Harper, and found that despite the low-key start to the season, there’s new-found optimism at the Ellis.
Harper, who played for the Zebras in the late 1990s and early 2000s, had a few years away from the game before going back last season and taking on the team manager’s role.
He said: “I think it’s fair to say that the lack of young players coming through has contributed to our present position.
“We were concerned at the start of last season on how the first XV would go but we got through it and there was a good spirit among the players.
“Although we only won three games and there were a couple of heavy defeats we had replacements in all the games apart from a trip to Hawcoat Park when we could only take 14.
“This season we have had some new lads coming down to play, although some are fairly young and haven’t played the game hardly while others are in their late 20s and are coming back after a few years out.
“Consequently playing Carlisle in our first match was a tough one.
“They have just come down from a League higher and in actual fact were equal on points with other clubs and could have survived at that level were it not for the scoring differential.
“They had played some pre-season games but we had not and were going in cold.”
Workington did not have a league game last week but had suffered injuries which subsequently affected selection for tomorrow’s scheduled Plate game at Cockermouth.
“In fact we only had one front row player available because one had suffered concussion against Carlisle, another picked-up a bad rib injury and a third is a shift worker and wasn’t able to play,” said Harper.
The Zebras committee thought long and hard about playing a game at Cockermouth with uncontested scrums which would automatically have been recorded as a home win, but with a small squad decided eventually they could not risk further injuries ahead of next week’s league game against Ambleside.
By calling off early, they hoped Cockermouth might be able to arrange a friendly run out.
Harper said: “We had 18 training this week and numbers have been quite good, but it’s our Under-16s where we see hope for the future.
“These lads won the Under-15s County Cup last season and have moved up an age group.
“Last Sunday they travelled to the north east and won well, so we have high hopes for them.
“They are getting at least 25 training with coach Lee Wordsworth which is brilliant and we see them as our future.
“I hope we can make up with these what we have missed in recent years.
“In five years’ time the club wants to be up there challenging in Counties 1 Cumbria, and not around the bottom two or three.”
