KENDAL Rugby faced not only a tough game when they took on Stockport but also difficulties caused by Storm Arwen.

Greg Wrathall returned to the field after suffering a previous injury, however Ben Dixon was forced out for a few weeks. This gave Danny Barker a chance to cover his place in the team.

Kick off was delayed by fifteen minutes due to the weather and the late arrival of players.

In a late change Jordan Johnson went to scrum half, with James Gough coming on later to replace him

Stockport started with the advantage of the very strong wind and used it to pin Kendal in their twenty-two putting a number of penalties to the corner and keeping the ball tight through forwards to open up gaps in a good Kendal defence for two early tries, eventually building a 19v0 lead.

As the game moved into the second quarter Kendal came more into the game, and on a rare visit to the Stockport half, Matt Houghton was able to charge down an attempted clearance kick and followed up breaking a few tackles to score 19v5

Glen Weightman added a penalty and 19v8 as the half came to close, with Kendal having the advantage of the wind after half time, things were looking up, but Stockport upped their game. Having pinned Kendal close to their line, when Steven Nelson disputed a penalty awarded against him, Kendal was down to fourteen for ten minutes, and Stockport used the penalty to extend their half time led to 26v8 with a further converted try.

The Kendal scrum was again in difficulties at times, but the lineout was working well and the forwards combined in a number of good driving mauls.

Early in the second half the lead was narrowed. Glen Weightman took a penalty quickly, and a long pass found Matt Houghton who went in for his second try, with Glen converting 26v15.

However, Stockport took control and keeping the ball through long periods, forced openings for regular scores.

In the bitterly cold conditions, it was a relief when the referee who had a good game, drew an end to the game.

It appears the score line was more due to Stockport showing why they are unbeaten, rather than any lack of effort from the team. Lewis Kincart had a good game in attack and defence, whilst Dan Lowther made a number of key tackles. When he came on for Reece Tomlinson in the second half, Chris Evans made a lot of ground.

Matt Houghton was named as player of the match.