Regional 2 North
Penrith RUFC 43 v Percy Park RFC 35
Its rugby not netball!
A small contingent of the travelling faithful decided to make a weekend of what appeared to be a very attractive fixture to watch. Two sides capable of playing fast open rugby where the result was not certain; what was there not to like? We received a wonderful welcome in a local curry house where the conversation flowed around Newcastle United being a far bigger football club than Sunderland.The night meeting its bleary end in a dodgy bar playing country and western music. Surprisingly one of our number knew all the words to all of the songs! What followed was a weekend of exaggerated revelations and a breakfast reminder of lovers long gone.
Dressed to the nines and smothered in ‘Brut’, we were met by a carriage that barely resembled a motor vehicle. Thankfully a short journey up the hill brought the travelling companions to their destination of choice. There we met old friends who added to the bonhomie with more drink and good fare. The afternoon was set as we wandered over to the stand to watch our heroes in action on a premier RFU AGP pitch. Pristine plastic appreciated by one of the fellows remarking “It looks pretty flat” stunned silence was followed by mirth coupled with a gentle Cumbrian rebuke “It should do mate it cost enough”. The scene was set and all around were in good fettle.
Penrith started the game with real pace. Pace that rocked Park. For some reason we couldn’t lose our bus legs. Within 4 minutes we were a try down and had our first encounter with one of Roger Hargreaves Mr Men prowling within the Penrith technical area. We couldn’t decide whether he was Mr Grumpy or just plain Mr Rude. His side had scored a fine try from a quick ‘tap and go’ utilising space provided by the referee to blitz behind the Park defensive line. Really fast hands had Penrith darting toward the top left hand corner. The support play was really good with the home side crossing the try line as Percy Park desperately tried to cover. Instead of praising his side, Mr Grumpy complained about late tackles intimating that we were a dirty side “If that’s the way you want to play it”. He was buzzing around like a Bee caught in a glass. He obviously didn’t know us as that statement was wearily ridiculous, but at least the travelling support was able to appreciate Penrith’s fast start.
It took two additional minutes for that appreciation to be enhanced. From the kick off Penrith’s 6 Mason Lewthwaite broke the line and the subsequent offload was sublime. Straight through for James Thompson to score his second. 14 nil down and we hadn’t touched the ball! From a home side perspective, you couldn’t have wished for more. For ourselves it was a disaster.
On ten minutes Penrith nearly had a third. A knock on brought a fluid move to the end. The off load from the floor didn't go to hand. Scrum to Percy Park. If you are wondering what was happening to Mr Rude you needn’t worry as he was still caught in his glass. The scrum brought Percy Park some respite. We drew breath and dominated the set piece. Here was a glimpse of the area where we could get ourselves back into the contest. Shrink the game and we had a chance. At this conjecture we couldn’t see it (that would come later) and as we went forward, we tried to move the ball wide only for Paul Spowart to get stripped by Lewthwaite. The Penrith flanker was off and despite valiant high knees chase from hooker Dan Shuttleworth, Lewthwaite was over the line to score. The conversion missed. 19 points to nil, 16 minutes gone and Mr Rude was out of the glass complaining about something or other. He really needed to calm down. The whining brought a frustrated “Its rugby not netball” response from the fellowship.
Another scrum brought Percy Park a free ball. We went to the middle only for Leo Caulfield to have the ball stripped from his possession. Head coach Ash Smith took control and took us down the line to a position where we could attack. The throw was good. We rolled off Josh Hedley. Power and strength took us over, with Jonny Dubois getting the all-important ‘touchdown’. Conversion taken. 19-7. Strangle the game by keeping the ball in the forwards and we had our way back in.
Not only had we had a dawning moment so had Penrith. The Cumbrian side wanted a fast game and at the next scrum moved the ball straight from their 8 to their backs. Although we were off the side quickly we failed to release and the penalty was kicked deep into our 22. Their lineout was disrupted by our forwards. The scrum award won and the ball was cleared. Penrith knew they had to keep the ball moving as we had the advantage in the tight. A lesson not lost on scrum half George Graham who ducked under Michael Langlands flailing arm and was in behind. Sharp passing, coupled with Toby Davison missing the covering tackle, allowed Rob Coward to score the try. 26 points to 7.
Everything Penrith did was about pace. A quick line out came to nothing but we kicked through at the ruck. The penalty was taken…quickly…and Penrith kept the ball alive from the floor. Players constantly moving. Percy Park failed to bring the ball carrier to the wrap up. Penrith went around a static Tristan Grant to score under the posts. A good try. 33 points to 7 and for once Mr Bee was silent. Maybe he was starting to appreciate Mason Lewthwaite’s performance. The player was putting in a shift.
Percy Park started to slow the game down with meaningful possession. Some unfortunate errors gave the ball back; for example Chris Reekie passed the ball into space, Andrew Walker kicked away and Ash Smith was loose with a pass as we found ourselves in a favourable position. Despite the mishaps you could feel we were turning the contest around. Communication in defence was improving and that aided Howard Stock as he put in a great covering tackle. Dan Shuttleworth was getting annoyed. His comrades in the pack encouraging and demonstrating that same determination. All that effort came together from a well worked line out move. Penrith were penalised for not releasing. Ash Smith launched a kick along the line. Percy Park went short with Josh Hedley releasing Chris Reekie to crash over. Conversion taken 33-14 and into the half time team talk.
The second half belonged to the away side. Ash Smith had a handle on the game and his team listened. No sounds of bickering and that silence had the travelling support rubbing their hands. Despite the scoreline you knew if we stuck together we could win the game. Deluded not at all. Penrith had another fast start scoring off the back of the scrum. Going down the blind side with the kick ahead collected. 40-14. The scorer Mason Lewthwaite leaving the field thereafter with what looked like a hamstring tweak.
Percy Park remained in control penalising every infringement by peppering the line, taking Penrith to the set piece. With the home side penalised for holding on the subsequent lineout went to the pick and go. Penrith struggled to contain the Park pack, picking up a yellow card for persistent infringement in the red zone. Further penalties attracted a lecture from the referee. Percy Park decided to take the scrum. As scrum half Joe Cassidy was about to release he was unlawfully impaired. Back to the scrum and to the pick and go. A high tackle had the referee reaching for yellow and another home player despatched. Park had to score and that reward came from the youthful hands of debutante Charlie Turnbull who put Chris Reekie in space to score. Conversion taken 40-21.
Andy Dunn was using the personnel from the bench to inject energy into our performance. A short melee with Dan Shuttleworth in the midst. I’m told a Lancastrian and a Cumbrian rumble is a thing! Must have something to do with old border raids. What was evident? Park were coming back strongly and Penrith were struggling to contain what was now a very dominant Percy Park pack. Although Penrith were restored to 14 they couldn’t prevent another Percy Park score. Leo Caulfield picked a ball from the back of the scrum and set Captain Seb Reece away behind the Penrith defence before releasing wing Howard Stock to score a great try. His efforts converted by Ash Smith, who was having a fine game with the boot. 40 points to 28
Percy Park started to pick up a few injuries of their own with Josh Hedley and Tristan Grant leaving the arena. A reshuffle brought Andy Dunn to the fore. The changes did not affect Percy Park’s momentum with Leo Caulfield keeping Park on the front foot. Percy Park were keeping the ball really well and the physicality of the game was having an effect. Aaron Smith and a Penrith player receiving on field treatment. Park were camped in Penrith’s half. The home side were penalised for holding on. The home crowd along with the Penrith bench were turning on the referee. The tension was building as Percy Park grew. Chris Reekie went on a trundle dragging players in. Although stopped the tackling player stayed there preventing quick ball. The penalty going to the line. Up we went and off the top. Aaron Smith was on hand to muscle over. Conversion taken. 40-35 with three minutes to go.
George Graham had been a handful all game and for the first time in the second half he managed to get loose of the black and white shackle, slipping past a few defenders. The home bench were on their feet. Swift feet took him to our 22 before a fair-haired rocket took him to the floor. Charlie Turnbull chasing the player down to save a possible score. Knock on Percy Park. A Caulfield pick at the back took the game to the middle. We looked good for a break along the blind until the game broke up with a brief flurry of moving arms. It was hard to say who threw the first and to be fair to the referee neither could he. Both captains were brought together and a stern warning was given to both sides.
The resulting play went wide with Percy Park penalised for going in at the side. Penalty to Penrith with a difficult kick from out wide. The home support rejoiced as word filtered that the penalty was the last kick of the game. All we could hope for was the miss. A successful kick would result in the loss of a hard-earned bonus point. As we watched Fraser Nicholson studiously studied the posts before striking high. The kick was good and it has to be said well taken. The punt met with cheers as the game was brought to the close by 43 points to 35.
Congratulations to Penrith for winning a highly entertaining contest. With a better start I am in no doubt that Percy Park could have won and it was testament to their collective that they did so well. Criticism was levelled last week surrounding our ability to self-destruct by disputing decisions and bickering. The lack of all that bane appeared to bring a togetherness to claw their way back into a contest that seemed dead and buried. Many thanks to Tristan Grant for putting himself forward whilst carrying an injury and to Dan Jackson for stepping up to the bench only to rush home to get back to work and finally congratulations to Charlie Turnbull on making his first team debut. His youthful enthusiasm caught the eye.
Representing Percy Park RFC:
From 8: Michael Langlands, Leo Caulfield, Jonny Dubois, Josh Hedley, Chris Reekie, Tristan Grant, Dan Shuttleworth and Aaron Smith
From 15: Toby Davison, Andrew Walker, Seb Reece, Paul Spowart, Howard Stock, Ash Smith and Joe Cassidy
Finishers: Andrew Dunn, Charlie Turnbull and Dan Jackson.