In miserable conditions, with the rain incessant, Morpeth and Aspatria did what they could to produce entertainment.
They rarely achieved this aim, on a day when both teams and a smattering of hardy but sodden supporters, welcomed the final whistle.
Morpeth delivered a resounding 29-0 win, earning a full five points while the Cumbrians travelled home with nothing to show for their efforts.
This victory can be traced back to two significant factors.
The first was Morpeth’s use of the ball, particularly in the first half when the conditions favoured them.
During this period, the home kicking out of hand to pin Aspatria deep into the 22 proved an excellent tactic.
Aspatria, time after time in the first 40, found themselves struggling to clear out of defence, so large parts of the game were played in dangerous areas for the visitors.
The second advantage Morpeth held was its edge in the setpiece scrum.
Throughout the game, this provided a solid attacking platform, and three of their four tries came as a direct result of possession earned at scrum time when in the Aspatria 22.
Most of the early action was contained in midfield, but when Morpeth came into possession, they were single-minded in kicking deep and turning Aspatria around. This eventually took a toll, and on 14 minutes Morpeth delivered the first score.
The catalyst was a powerful scrum around the 22, which opened up a wide blindside for the home left winger to exploit.
Morpeth elected for a successful penalty attempt on 18 minutes, which opened up a 10-0 lead.
A second try followed on 22 minutes. Again, the starting point was a surging scrum which fully engaged the Aspatria back row and left a wide gap for the home back division to exploit, this time under the posts to extend the lead to 17-0.
This was about as good as it got for Morpeth in the first half as Aspatria began to gain some territory and manage the threat posed by the home side.
This mini revival was enough to get Aspatria through to half-time without further damage.
Despite being 17-0 down, hope had not yet deserted Aspatria. The conditions now favoured them with the rain driving into Morpeth faces for a change.
Thoughts of any kind of comeback quickly evaporated following an early home score. Once more, a scrum was the undoing of Aspatria as the Morpeth pack delivered quick, early ball to an eager back-line that made no mistake.
At 22-0, a home win was no longer in doubt, but there was no lack of fight in the Aspatria ranks, as they took the game back into Morpeth territory.
The home line was under siege for lengthy periods, but at times, Aspatria were over-eager and scoring opportunities went begging.
After 65 minutes, the game settled down to what could be described as an even contest.
At this point, Aspatria lost Jamie Lightfoot to a yellow card for an illegal tackle and the disruption that followed let Morpeth in for their fourth try of the day.
At 29-0, all Aspatria could do was chase a consolation score. Despite some promising attacks coming within inches of the home line, even that would not come.
It added up to a day best forgotten by Aspatria, who will be glad of the upcoming two-week break.
This should allow them to get some of their walking wounded back on the pitch before facing Consett at Bower Park.
