Westoe 40, Kendal 9 (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Westoe 40, Kendal 9

4:52pm Monday 21st November 2011 in Rugby By Frank Jameson

AFTER a gutsy performance in the first half, a weakened Kendal faded badly in the final 10 minutes to concede two late tries to a rampant Westoe.

The South Shields outfit started well, gaining a turnover straight from the kick off, and they stretched Kendal before flanker Rory Duff charged over the line in the second minute to get his first score, Mark Bedworth converting.

Then the Black & Ambers settled down, with full back Chris Park catching a high ball, counter attacking, and firing a long diagonal to his right. Soon after, Mark Ireland got his first points on the board with a simple penalty to make it 7-3.

Then the Cumbrian pack put some excellent drives up the middle, patiently putting together 16 "pick and go's", with a fine diagonal kick by Ireland to the corner, pinning Westoe back on their heels. Ireland followed this with a second penalty, and Kendal were one point behind the home side.

But just before half time, Westoe made the second breakthrough when scrum half Peter Phelan made a sharp break through. He was well tackled by Nathan Woof, but slipped a good ball to his second row, John Younghusband, to score under the posts. Bedworth converted to give Westoe a 14-6 half-time lead.

The gap was immediately narrowed when Ireland kicked his third penalty in the first minute after the break. Nathan Woof made a good interception and charged up the left wing for nearly 30 metres, but was eventually hounded down by the chasing defenders. A good Kendal forwards' drive was eventually stopped when Ginna Boardley was stripped of possession. Westoe went back to the other end, where Phelan made his second good break to score a try, converted by Bedworth.

Kendal were still fighting hard, Mark Bowman picked up at a midfield scrum and made good ground, well supported by Danny Redhead, but he was isolated and lost possession.

Westoe started to move the ball around more, and quick passing to their left wing split the Cumbrian defence for Rory Duff to gain his second try.

Substitute Garry Holmes made a smart break down the left to lift Kendal’s spirits, and an Ireland break gave Mattie Houghton a good chance, only for him to be tackled in what was the best move of the match. Quick ball back to Ireland again saw him kick for his right winger Jamie Postlethwaite, but it was too wide for him.

Kendal were still not done, and two ‘catch and drives’ in the left corner by Redhead in the line out were both held up over the line by a stubborn Westoe defence.

Westoe leading 26-9 was a fair reflection of the score, but in the last few minutes of the game Kendal tailed off badly, allowing Westoe to score two easy tries.

James Clark scored on the left, and Haydn Richards through the middle, both converted by Bedworth, to make the final score 40-9.