Kendal 21 - Carlisle 11 (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Kendal 21 - Carlisle 11

9:28am Friday 27th April 2007 in

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Raw Kendal forward power early in the second half ripped the heart out of a gallant Carlisle side who had more than matched their higher league opponents for the bulk of this Cumbria Cup final, writes Dennis Aris.

Throughout the game Carlisle's backs were fast and impressive, yet five minutes after the start it was Kendal who appeared ready and able to show the pretenders from North West Division One a clean pair of heels.

Mercurial scrum-half James Gough made a trademark burst with a tap penalty.

He beat two men then slipped the ball back to Nick McKain. The big Kiwi flanker, who has been filling in at centre in recent weeks, struggled to make the 40 yard sprint to the Penrith line, but made it he did, outpacing the speedy Carlisle cover by a whisker.

Andrew Boardley's conversion shot went cleanly through the posts at the neutral Penrith RUFC ground to give Kendal a 7-0 lead.

It should have been a start to discourage the lower league side, but Carlisle Pirates hit back with an assault that lasted for most of the first half.

The Kendal pack has rumbled over most of the North Division sides they have met this season but Carlisle more than held their own to set up drives deep into Kendal territory.

With their ability to quickly release a fast set of backs they came dangerously close to scoring on several occasions. Only dogged defensive tackling, the most improved aspect of Kendal's play in recent games, kept them out. It took three men to force super-quick winger Lewis Boyd into touch just feet from the line and man of the match McKain made three other try-saving tackles - the very reason he had been moved to centre.

Thet desperate defence inevitably brought penalties, however, and Bobby Sherlock reduced the arrears to 7-3 with a shot which curved in neatly on the blustery wind, then when Kendal second row Liam Hayton was sin binned for an offence at the maul Sherlock slotted over another.

Carlisle prop Steven Stamper almost immediately joined Hayton on the sidelines for ten minutes after preventing Kendal taking a quick penalty and the sides turned round with Kendal holding a narrow 7-6 lead.

The break worked wonders for Kendal as the pack snapped into action from the restart and a series of strength-sapping drives saw second row Mike Capstick propelled over the line by his colleagues for a try which Boardley converted to give Kendal a 14-6 lead.

Carlisle were denied a chance to respond, however, as the Kendal pack gained possession from the re-start and immediately drove forward again.

From 12 yards out they conjured up a massive push to put prop Richard Harryman over close to the posts and give Boardley the easiest of his three conversions.

Maybe Kendal thought it was game over at 21-6, for the urgency again disappeared and it was back to sometimes desperate defending as the Carlisle backs probed at every opportunity.

Eventually they scored a deserved try when a sharp passing move to the right saw full back Stefan Helias speed into the line to break though and score an unconverted try wide out to make it 21-11.

Carlisle offered one more moment of danger when Boyd hurtled up the left wing in a 50 yard sprint, only to be halted by a tackle from Kendal colt Luke Jacob, who had come on when McKain left the field with a shoulder injury.

For Kendal captain Simon Mulholland, who is returning to his native New Zealand, lifting the cup was a fitting end to his three-year stint with the club.