Vale of Lune 43 Keswick 5

Saturday saw the First XV travel to Vale of Lune in Lancaster and the Second XV at home to Oldham 2nd XV. For the First XV Keswick kicked off and Vale immediately returned the kick. Their attack was up quickly and Keswick’s attempted clearance kick was charged down, gathered by Vale and with only one minute gone they scored an unconverted try to go 5-0 up.

The position got no better from the restart, Keswick giving away a penalty and Vale running it through both backs and forwards to score a converted try under the posts for 12-0 on 4 minutes. Winning possession from the restart, Vale again ran the ball and won another penalty to take them back into the Keswick 22. A line out to Keswick on the 5 metre line was well won and mauled forward before being passed back for a clearance kick. The speed of the attackers again caught out the kicker with a second charge down leading to Vale’s third try, unconverted, for 17-0 on 10 minutes. Things were looking ominous as the Keswick defence seemed unable to stop the attacks, whether by backs or forwards, and unable to retain possession for long enough to pose a threat.

However, after making a very unsuccessful start the Keswick defence began to improve, the next attack being held off until a knock forward by Vale. The scrums were a mixed bag, Vale generally the better side but Keswick usually able to make use of the ball on our put in. A scrum to Vale on the Keswick 22 was run from the back and a missed tackle allowed the home side to cross for their bonus point try, converted, to move further ahead, 24-0 with only 18 minutes gone. A seriously high scoring defeat looked likely, but by now Keswick were getting the measure of the Vale game plan and were able to marshal the defence more successfully.

Vale were able to create a maul from a tackle to regain possession as Keswick made an attack and mounted another foray on the right, where they met a stronger Keswick defence, despite occasional missed tackles as their centres ran a straight line. On a rare venture into the Vale half Keswick forced a knock forward for a scrum on their 10 metre line. Picking up at the back and running the ball right it was passed to Ryan Weir who outpaced the defence and broke 2 tackles to score an unconverted try in the corner for 24-5 on 33 minutes. In what was left of the half both sides put in good attacking moves but were let down by handling errors and there was no more score.

The second half started with Vale keeping possession and looking to attack through their backs. The Keswick defence held for a while but on 47 minutes were overcome as Vale scored another unconverted try to extend their lead to 29-5. Despite this try Keswick seemed to have the measure of the home side, in both attack and defence, putting in some good moves, using the backs to good effect and driving round the sides of rucks. The Keswick defence also looked more solid. Line outs and scrums mainly went with the throw and by no means were Keswick the poor relation.

An attack and kick through by Keswick was knocked forward by Vale on their 5 metre line. Keswick won the scrum under pressure but failed to release in a subsequent tackle and the pressure was off. A penalty put Keswick close to the Vale try line, where a maul developed from the line out before it was passed out. For a second time though, failure to release in the tackle was Keswick’s undoing. On 67 minutes an altercation after a tackle resulted in a yellow card for a Keswick player and a red card for his opponent. The game had been clean until this point though it seemed to the spectators that their understanding of a high tackle differed from that of the referee.

This time Keswick lost the line out that followed the penalty kick to touch and found themselves on the defensive again. Kicking was proving to be Keswick’s undoing as, following the 2 charge down tries in the opening minutes, a kick downfield was caught by the Vale fullback who ran the ball back and passed it to the wing who benefited from some generous missed tackles to score a converted try on the right for 36-5 on 73 minutes. More handling errors by Keswick didn’t help the cause and allowed Vale possession to attack with, most of these admirably kept out by a strong defence until a take and drive from a break down using their bigger forwards allowed Vale to score their final, converted try on 39 minutes. There was just time for a last attack by Keswick but the game ended with lost possession and a final score of 43-5.

This was not the defeat that the score suggests, with 17 of Vale’s points coming from kicking errors by Keswick and more than half of their points coming in the first 20 minutes, seemingly before Keswick had woken up to the Vale game plan and speed of play. Whilst still firmly on the bottom of the table, it is clear that it is only a matter of time before Keswick register their first points. Being promoted to Level 6 is a challenge and the rugby at this level is faster than Keswick have been used to, the opposition generally more experienced. However, the rugby is exciting to watch and the players are enjoying the opportunity to compete at this higher level.

Whilst the First XV were playing in Lancaster, the Second XV were winning a good game against Oldham 2nd XV, 36-5. Danny Price had a very good game and Dan Craghill on his first senior outing, as well as scoring an excellent try, won man of the match.

Saturday sees Keswick First XV entertain Birkenhead Park, currently third in the league, at Davidson Park in a match sponsored by Brundholme Dental Practice. The Second XV travel to De La Salle, who are below Keswick in the NOWIRUL County Courier Services Division 2 North League but with a game in hand. Both games kick off at 3pm.