A FIXTURE mix-up with the Rugby Football Union has left Kendal changing plans hurriedly as they bring forward their final fixture - at home against Newbury - to this Saturday instead of playing in a week's time as planned.

The Newbury curtain-closer was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 20 and was published in Kendal's membership card as such.

This weekend was due to be kept blank because of the Powergen Cup final.

But the date of the final was put back a week and notification of the change to league fixtures was missed until Tuesday evening when Newbury rang about travel arrangements.

Kendal: P.

Dodds, J.

Balmer, I.

Voortman, C.

Malherbe, A.

Myers, M.

Scott, R.

Morris, B.

Coxon, I.

Gowing, I.

Thompson (capt), K.

Robinson, M.

Capstick, C.

Wolstenholme, M.

Burnett, A.

Bateson/M.

Bowman.

Replacements: N.

Pearson, D.

Preston, C.

Atkinson.

Kendal's Director of Rugby Chris Hayton said the side had shown a "generosity of spirit together with a defence leaking like a collander" at Waterloo last Saturday.

" We scored 20 points against a relegated team and were beaten and that should never happen.

"All issues in the league were settled and it made for an entertaining game, but we did not plug the gaps on the day and we need to move people and the ball better around the field."

Saturday's match, sponsored by Russell Armer, kicks off at 3pm.

n A fund-raising race night takes place at the Kendal club on Friday.

Waterloo...................

27

Kendal.......................

22

FORTUNATELY Waterloo was not the pivotal battle of Kendal's season and a poor performance ended in a disappointing defeat by their relegated opponents.

Six first-team regulars were absent from the visitors' starting line-up, but hopes are that the squad can still regroup to finish the season on a high note.

Decision-making was poor with players becoming isolated too often and forcing the final pass, resulting in handling errors and turnover ball.

Kendal absorbed 10 minutes of pressure before the Waterloo backs drifted offside and Mike Scott put over a 42-metre penalty to open the scoring against the run of play.

Two minutes later, the Kendal forwards won turnover ball and scrum-half Richard Morris fed it wide for Chris Malherbe to release Jason Balmer for a lightning 40-metre dash over the tryline.

The try went unconverted so did a long-range penalty by Scott, but Kendal were deservedly ahead 8-0 at this stage.

Waterloo's riposte came with a superbly-worked try of their own after 25 minutes.

Winning a lineout in their own half, stand-off Hitchmough darted clear and fed flanker Wand in the inside channel to score by the posts, Hitchmough converting to put them

8-7 ahead.

Five minutes later, Hitchmough saw a long-range penalty ricochet off the upright.

Keith Robinson caught the rebound to set up a counter-attack and Scott's long pass released Malherbe.

Although he was held, Waterloo conceded the penalty at the breakdown.

Scott then kicked to touch deep inside the Waterloo 22 and the home team conceded another penalty which Scott put over for an 11-7 lead.

All that good work was undone in the 35th minute when Waterloo centre Mark Tattersall intercepted Morris's long pass from a lineout.

Taking the ball on the bounce, he had a clear run to the tryline to dive under the posts and Hitchmough converted.

Scott clawed back three points with a penalty to take Kendal to half time on level terms at 14-14, and Waterloo obligingly missed two penalty chances early in the second half.

But the threat was only delayed as outside centre Freeman Payne capitalised on some half-hearted tackling on a 40-metre run through heavy traffic for another five points.

After 56 minutes, Robinson plundered a Waterloo throw on the halfway line to forage upfield and Ian Gowing maintained the momentum to find Ian Voortman, but play was brought back for a penalty and Scott closed the gap to two points.

Kendal came under pressure from the restart and were caught napping by a quick tap-penalty which allowed second-row Hugo Corbett to crash over from six metres out for an unconverted try.

Six minutes later Waterloo stretched the gap to 10 points when Morris was yellow-carded for a blatant offside at a ruck 24 metres out and Hitchmough put over the penalty.

Kendal's 14 men bounced back five minutes from the end when Malherbe escaped down the right flank and barged his way over for an unconverted try, but the wind held up Scott's conversion attempt, keeping the visitors a try out of reach at

27-22.

Although Kendal tried their best to turn the match around in the short time remaining, they were unable to do so.