Northern Divison-Regional 2 North
Keswick RFC 28 v Percy Park RFC 43
Park recover from an elbow of a start.
On a smashing day for rugby Keswick was (literally) invaded by the travelling faithful. Reminiscent of a Northumbrian war band travelling deep into Cumbria searching for a troupe of castle rustlers; only on this occasion 5 points was the prize rather than a Viking brigand. Having said the Cumbrians struck the first blow as the faithful were charged four quid to park their horses! Not a great start and it got worse as Head Coach Ash Smith dislocated his right elbow attempting to recover a loosely thrown ball; launched toward him straight from the kick off. Whilst the player lay prostrate and clearly in pain, Keswick stole the bouncing ball to score in the corner. Duly converted, Percy Park were seven down before blinking an eyelash. With the game delayed by over 15 minutes whilst the unfortunate player was gently removed from the field to Carlisle General Hospital ,can’t rely on Ambulances these days, (apparently the waiting time was over 8 hours!) the faithful were hoping that we could find some Northumbrian grit and bounce back. A serious injury to a teammate can seriously affect the mindset of the players left to finish the game. Concern abounded all over the ground.
As Ash Smith was conveyed in a golden BMW chariot, Paul Spowart slipped into the fly half berth with Jamie Wrigley returning to his usual position at full back.
Percy Park struggled. The injury clearly had affected some and Keswick applied the pressure. Cometh the time and other on field leaders emerge. Former Captain Michael Langlands stood up and began to marshal the troops before leading us out of the red zone with a strong run loitering on the outside. Percy Park’s forwards took to the battle and lead by example. Having soaked up the pressure and beginning to dominate possession they gave a platform for Toby Davison to clear up field. A mighty kick toward Keswicks 5 metre line. Percy Parks first attack of the game. The line out did not go to plan so we went to the scrum. Although the ball was cleared the home sides scrum creaked.
Our experienced players were coming to the fore. The forwards provided another platform for Toby Davison to launch another kick dee into Keswick territory. This time the bounce of the ball was not clear cut. All looked to the touch judge who gave the decision the way of the black and white. This time the throw was good and Keswick took the catcher to the floor and were caught offside for good measure. Percy Park dominated the scrum. Keswick went backwards and after two phases Matty Atkinson got hold of the ball and blasted over the line for a good forwards try. The pack deserved it and the faithful hoped that would provide the team with the impetus to kick on. The try converted but the kick on failed to materialise.
Paul Spowart attempted to clear his line but in the doing kicked the ball to a speedy Keswick wing. A double up covering tackle from Thomas Moore and Matty Atkinson spared the blushes but the pressure stayed on. Keswick rolled with the ball eventually putting their outside centre into the top right hand corner. Lesson learnt don’t kick the ball to their attacking wing. Fortunately the conversion was missed. 12 to 7 the score.
Keswick didn’t let go. As Park carried Keswick held and steadily returned the ball to the away side. They were playing well. Park were eager to get off the line and were caught in front. A free ball was taken with a cross kick that Toby Davision collected on the mark. Attack extinguished but the penalty was dispatched for three points/ 15 7 to the home side.
Percy Park continued to dominate up front. A fact emphasized when Keswick were pushed off their own ball. The front five were clearly enjoying the contest. A contest that was slowly beginning to turn as our forward back smothered Keswick ingenuity. Unfortunately we could not say the same about our back line. Balls were not going to hand or were being thrown toward the floor breaking up momentum. One was cancelling out the other. Keswick sensed that they needed to keep the ball away from our pack and play from the back. Their wish to go quick was read by….Michael Langlands. Anticipating and collecting the intercept Michael extended his stride to purposely head toward the posts. The touch down won the race, with the conversion made, we were one point behind. 15 to 14 could that moment be the turnaround?
Park started to work hard over the ball with Seb Reece winning a hard earned penalty. The team decided to run it. Not surprisingly we dropped it. And not surprisingly we won the ball back in the scrum. Keswick folded going back quickly. The ball went down the line until Ross Young was unlawfully felled and we received the penalty shout. This time we took the shot and came away with three points. 15-17 and ahead for the first time.
Our passing along the line continued to be poor fortunately a forward, and that man Langlands, was on hand to gather out wide. A sharp pass inside to the supporting Toby Davison gave Park the open space. A deft tip to Ross Young allowed the field to open and the posts to beckon. Try given. Not bad from inside our 22. Were we waking up? 15 to 22 the score-line.
Keswick were well beaten in the forward area and their frustration became to show when a sharp and short melee erupted between the opposing packs. The referee went to the whistle and the Captains. Neither side received a slice of cheese.
Park’s game held to the positive and was let down by the reported negative. Especially when we did get possession in the middle and kicked the ball away. On one occasion we had the ball returned to us. Fortunately the chasing Keswick player ran out of playing field before he could touch the ball down.
Coach Andy Dunn started to run his bench. Eddie Saint came on for Mark Barry and Marc Cook for Aaron Smith. All forwards. If anything we became even more dominant in the pack. All following the team looked at the scoreboard and were mystified we weren’t further ahead. A forward pass and another forceful set piece gave Percy Park an attacking penalty which was dispatched down the line. The resulting catch and drive rumbled forward toward the try line. As the line beckoned players went to the ground with Dan Shuttleworth coming up with the pats on the head. It was only on the way home that the try scorer came forward to claim the notch. Apparently the ball should have gone back to Dan but Jonny Dubois had refused, very eloquently, to give him the ball. Score taken. Much hilarity on the bus. It’s amazing what a small glass of port can do to induce a tale or two!
Half time 15 points to 29.
Whatever team talk was had didn’t inspire either side. Of the two sides Park were worse, playing well within themselves. What ball we had we kicked away. Keswick’s inside centre was enjoying some good possession. Great defensive work from Jake Smith kept Keswick at bay. At least we continued to be dominant in the set piece. The more the game went on the more Keswick came back into it. This game began to have echoes of our second half performance away at Northern.
The faithful were not surprised when we were pinged in front of our posts. 18 to 29. Coach Andy Dunn wasn’t happy. We were asleep at the wheel. He was less impressed when our performance became so error ridden we let Keswick edge closer with another penalty taken from out wide. 21 to 29 with 15 minutes to go. It was becoming a race to the finish line.
For once from a set piece we didn’t run the ball lateral and for once Jamie Wrigley was able to collect coming onto the ball and he showed what he could do when decent attacking ball was given to him. Wrigley simply scythed through the Keswick defence with real strength and purpose straight under the posts. With the conversion we had a bit of real daylight.21 to 36. Didn’t last long.
We didn’t deal with the return well. A pass went to floor that Josh Hedley attempted to clear up before a team mate helped out taking the ball across our try line. Five metre scrum to Keswick. As we went forward the referee penalised the Park forwards for going early. Keswick scoring from the free kick. 28 to 36.
Andy Dunn rotated the front row bringing Aaron Smith back into the fray. Almost immediately a head collision brought the game to a halt. Two Keswick players were down alongside Dan Shuttleworth. The Park player regaining his feet to shrug off the knock. The stop in play seemed to affect the home side. Percy Park won another scrum against the head. Michael Langlands kept the ball at the back before releasing. Park went lateral and made a dogs dinner of the attack. Fortunately we came out of it the beneficiary of a knock on. This time Michael held the ball and trundled forward playing a neat game of football. With Keswick pedaling back to keep onside the ball was delivered to Seb Reece. This time our Captain strode forward to score a good set piece try. 28 to 43.
As the game closed Park took one final scrum against the head before kicking the ball into touch. Final score 28 to 43. A 5 point win but in our hearts we know we should have done much better. As the conversation flowed to the health of our esteemed head coach it was very apparent that many of our younger players had been affected by what was a nasty injury.
As players settled into post game mode, the bus ride home was fun with plenty of songs and wildly exaggerated feats of manly prowess. That buoyant mood was further enhanced with news that Ash was okay, although in pain, the dislocation had been reset. Best wishes were sent and the tales became even more grossly exaggerated.
Hopefully next week at home to South Shields Westoe Percy Park can get back to playing with real confidence and regain that little bit of balance between front and back that seems to have escaped them of late.
Many thanks to Keswick RFC for providing some photos especially the following acknowledging the author of this report.
Representing Percy Park RFC
From 15: Jamie Wrigley, Toby Davison, Seb Reece, Thomas Moore, Ross Young, Ash Smith and Tom Robinson
From 8: Michael Langlands, Jake Smith, Jonny Dubois, Josh Hedley, Mark Barry, Matty Atkinson, Dan Shuttleworth and Aaron Smith
Finishers: Marc Cook, Eddie Saint and Paul Spowart.