Rugby - Students the masters, but Kendal chalk it up to experience

7:37pm Saturday 20th February 2010

By Richard Daniels

THE CREAM of English college rugby players in the form of Loughborough Students were masters at Kendal for a 43-17 victory on Saturday.

But Kendal rarely fail to turn up for class at Mint Bridge and contributed plenty to a competitive, enjoyable match.

In the end the Students' almost impetuous brand of fast-flowing, expansive play outscored the hosts by six tries to two.

Yet Kendal made a snappy start, looking more streetwise and structured than of late and a Mark Ireland penalty took them ahead after three minutes.

Loughborough fly-half George Drake replied with a successful kick in return just four minutes later.

But although the Students' threat was omnipresent, Kendal's defence was wonderfully defiant in adversity.

Their feats in repelling all borders enabled Kendal to stay level at 3-3 for half an hour.

The pressure of youthful perpetual motion had to tell and the try when it came had a touch of controversy.

Did second-row James Taylor ground the ball properly under the posts in the eighth minute before Drake converted for an 10-3 lead?

The Kendal bank of judges in front of the clubhouse roared their dissent, feeling that the Students' scorer had rolled the ball over the line after being held in the tackle.

Kendal would have been happy to turn around only 10-3 down, but a second try in stoppage time after sloppy ball out from the back of a scrum thwarted them from clearing their lines.

Loughborough hooker Thomas Cobb made no such mistake as he stretched away over the whitewash with Drake adding the extras to make it 17-3 at half time.

After two minutes they expertly mauled over penalty lineout ball with flanker Gary Hodgson awarded the touchdown under a heap of forwards, and Ireland's conversion cut the gap to 17-10 - a manageable proposition once again.

Yet two tries in reply in four minutes suddenly put the Students into the far blue yonder with second-row James Taylor and No8 Phil Burgess taking full advantage of turnover ball on both occasions.

At 29-10 Loughborough were given a let-off by the referee after persistently spoiling Kendal's attacks in the 22. Someone should have seen a yellow card, but the referee felt a lecture was all the Students required. Good on literacy but not on numbers.

Instead the visitors rubbed it in by surging back upfield and scored in the corner through the lively Pygros with the seven points putting them out of sight.

Kendal stuck to their task, as befitting their pride in the shirt, and Hodgson delivered a second well-worked try for them after James Gough and Mike Scott worked a neat loop movement in a tight spot.

But by this stage Kendal were as reckless as any students on the last day of term, risking all in a bid to claw back more points.

Loughborough plucked a wayward pass out of the air for an interception try late on, winger Ashley Smith Murray shooting over, and replacement Allan Murray converting to complete the scoring of a far from one-sided contest.