Cumbria’s young rugby Colts powered their way to victory over their Durham Under-17s counterparts in a fast-paced match at Keswick RFC’s Davidson Park, writes Ben Challis.
It was nip and tuck in the first half but saw Cumbria storm through to win the match 38-17 in the second half.
With Durham travelling to Keswick with a large squad and plenty of support, Cumbria knew they were going to be tested, and for the first 30 minutes this was a great battle to watch with some excellent (and sometimes reckless) passing, some tough tackling from both sides, competitive line outs, and with Cumbria marginally stronger in the scrum.#
It was Durham who took the lead after sustained pressure on the Cumbria try line saw an attempt to kick the ball out of trouble blocked and the visitors were quicker to react and pounced on the ball for the opening try 12 minutes in.
Cumbria responded immediately and three minutes later Evan Gore led a charge down the left wing supported by Sam Turner and Matthew Megan.
Gore outpaced the chasing Durham defenders and dotted down under the sticks, giving Sam Longden a simple conversion.
Durham responded and scored a second try, this one down the left wing, to retake the lead. Durham continued to apply pressure but a failed attack gave Cumbria possession and set up Alfie Jackson to storm down the right wing and dive in for Cumbria’s second try which was duly converted by Longden for the lead at 14-12.
Cumbria continued to push forwards and in the closing minutes of the first half Megan kicked a spilled ball forwards, and chased his own kick, kicked again and then just three metres short of the Durham try line was tackled off the ball giving referee Martin Maughan no option but to award Cumbria a penalty try and a sin binning for Durham, and Cumbria took a 21-12 lead and a temporary one man advantage into the break.
Cumbria began to look the better side in the second half, with the majority of possession and, perhaps more importantly, excellent defence.
Gore kicked off the second half scoring with another surge up the right wing, sliding in to touch down by the corner flag for an unconverted try.
With Sam Turner putting in some excellent runs to move Cumbria forwards, Alfie Mellor then added another try for Cumbria and the margin to get back into the game began to look too much for Durham.
Gore could have made it a hat trick of tries with an other charge up the wing, and having sprinted over the try line he headed for the sticks pursued by two Durham defenders, and just as Gore slid down to score the more tenacious Durham defender managed to tackle Gore in the split second before he touched down, and the ball was then spilled.
It mattered little, the clock was ticking down, and Fin Binks put the icing on the cake, setting off from deep in the Cumbria half to touch down on the left wing with a great solo effort.
A late try from Durham gave the visiting support something to cheer about, but with the three second half tries and one more conversion by Sam Longden, Cumbrian ended the day with an emphatic, if hard earned, 38-17 triumph.
After the match, coach Garry Holmes said: “We are really proud of how the players bounced back from a disappointing game against Northumberland.
“During the week we worked on our connection in defence and this paid off.
“We wanted to go out and be aggressive in contact, and the players managed to find the way to do this.
“Our set piece worked well, and we had bundles of pace across the back line. There were some very good decisions made throughout the game and we managed to express ourselves in attack.
“Our players showed real Cumbrian grit against a Durham side that were going into the game having beaten Northumberland two weeks ago.
“The turn around from our players is a credit to the hard work they are putting in during training.
” We now look forward to travelling to the Vale of Lune to face Lancashire, looking to make it two wins in a row against our neighbours from the south.”
Cumbria Under-17s: 1. Kai Topman (Trinity & Carlisle RUFC) 2. George Skelton-Montgomery (QES & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 3. Kurt Cousins (Kendal RUFC) 4. Sam Hurst (QEGS & Carlisle RUFC) 5. Rory Irving (Austin Friars & Carlisle RUFC) (C) 6. Alfie Jackson (West Lakes College & Carlisle RUFC) 7. Zach Taylor (QES & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 8. Max Bateson (Cockermouth School & Cockermouth RUFC) 9. Harry Bibby (UCC & Penrith RUFC) 10. Sam Longden (Kirkby Stephen Grammar School & Penrith RUFC) 11. Evan Gore (KKS & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 12. Sam Turner (Kirkham Grammar & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 13. Alfie Mellor (QEGS & Carlisle RUFC) 14. Matthew Megan (Keswick School & Keswick RFC) 15. Alfie Tipping (Gosforth Academy & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 16. Aaron Brown (UCC & Penrith 17) Joshua Riding (QES & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 18. Jayden Lidgey (Trinity & Wigton RUFC 19) Seth Relph (Keswick School and Keswick RFC) 20. Max Muldowney (QES & Kirkby Lonsdale RUFC) 21.Thomas Holt (Trinity & Carlisle RUFC) 22. Ted Batty (Trinity & Carlisle RUFC) 23. Fin Binks (Kendal College & Penrith RUFC)
