Egremont claimed early-season bragging rights over local rivals Kells at the start of the 2026 new-look National Conference season.
The Division One clash at Gillfoot ended 26-18 to the Rangers in what turned-out to be a classic game of two halves.
Kells played their best stuff in the first half and deservedly led 18-6 at half-time, scoring three tries to one.
But it was Egremont who were the dominant force in the second half scoring four tries and 20 unanswered points to start the season with an important win.
Last season the Rangers did the double over Kells in Division One but the Whitehaven side finished two points higher in the final table.
Kells had actually made a superb start with two tries in the first 15 minutes from Clarke Chambers and Ryan Starkie, both converted by Ross Gainford for a 12-0 lead.
Egremont came back with a well-worked try for Kieran Glenn, converted by Joe Lewis but Kells again finished the half strongly and a minute before the break Lewis Smith scored their third try, again converted by Gainford.
Egremont’s winning response started from their first set of six in the second-half when Brad Long ploughed over under the sticks for Lewis to add his second goal.
The Rangers had the momentum and built on that with Kells starting to make errors and a couple of tries from Seamus Hutton, one converted by Lewis edged them into a 22-18 lead.
The decisive score came late on when the influential John Paul Brocklebank set up Kaiden Block for an unconverted try.
You can hear the thoughts of coaches Danny Barker (Egremont) and Peter Smith (Kells) below:
