Penrith halted their run of three defeats with a bonus point win against Huddersfield YMCA, whilst the scoreline might suggest a regulation win at home against a mid-table side that was far from the truth. The visitors kicked a penalty to lead in the seventh minute and going into the final ten minutes of the game they still led, Penrith finally hit a bit of form at the death to turn the game round but it was far from plain sailing.
The first half hour of the match was some of the most unmemorable rugby seen at Winters Park for some time, Huddersfield seemed desperate to give the ball to the home side and they looked even more desperate to give it back as a host of penalties, forward passes and simple mistakes gifted possession to the visitors.
It was no surprise when Huddersfield took the lead with a penalty and it was soon followed by a try, Penrith were penalised on their own line it was quickly taken and the ball kicked to their winger standing wide on the right. He was virtually unopposed and the bounce was reasonably friendly for an easy run in at the corner. The conversion was missed but the Yorkshire side had another successful penalty shot on 15 minutes to extend their lead to 11 points.
Penrith did put the occasional spell of rugby together, a nice move was ended by Ryan Johnson and Phil Gardham, playing his first game since September 2016, who looked to have set Mike Raine up for a try but they were brought back for a forward pass. A period of pressure in the clubhouse corner following a Mike Stephens charge down looked promising but they were penalised for crossing as they went over in the corner.
The Cumbrians finally got a score on the board after a high tackle on the visitors 22, George Graham, who is always looking for the quick tap, took it and got away and made ground through the retreating defenders, he was hauled down and the ball went to the narrow side from the ruck and Jamie McNaughton and Phil Armstrong combined to put Ben Littleton in at the corner. He was able to run round, not quite behind the posts but he made the angle a lot easier for Matt Allinson who slotted the conversion.
From the restart Penrith were caught offside on their own 10m line and a well struck penalty left them trailing 14-7, that was the score at the break despite a strong home assault on the visitors line as the half ended.
The talk on the touchline was the second half couldn't be as bad as the first but for half an hour it was just as poor. Unforced errors and penalties littered the home side's game and although they looked at any minute as if they could break loose and take the game by the scruff of the neck it never quite happened, there was a lapse of some description to ease the pressure on the visitors.
Penrith needed to score twice to win and they got a kickable penalty following a good counter attack by Littleton running a kick back. He beat his opposite number on the outside and took play back into the visitors' half. Allinson stepped forward and knocked it over to pull the deficit back to four points.
The game went into its final stages with the visitors still ahead but their efforts were beginning to take their toll as they looked to be tiring and Penrith saw more and more of the play. They were attacking through the forwards and it was second row Ryan Banks who broke free and took play to the line, after a couple of forward drives and a step back inside by Mike Fearon the ball came to McNaughton playing in the centre and he flung a long pass out to Littleton on the left wing who got in at the corner before the cover landed across, he ran round and narrowed the angle for Allinson who was successful with the conversion.
The clock ticked down with the home side all over their tired opponents who had now seen their lead disappear and Penrith went for the jugular. It was Will Morgan who set up the third try as he burst through the defence at the ruck on half way and got into the 22 before being halted, the ball went down the blind side and Fearon set up McNaughton in space for a clear run in at the right corner.
From looking second favorites for the win Penrith now has the sniff of a four try bonus point, Allinson's conversion took the form of a drop goal and it sailed over from wide out and they went look for another score. The Huddersfield lineout had been a pretty good source of possession for Penrith all afternoon and once more they stole the ball, this time it was Banks at the tail and Graham made progress up the middle. Johnson, looking more and more like his old self charged down the right and it was left for Allinson to finish off the move in the corner and turn a miserable afternoon's rugby into something more palatable.
This was not a game for the connoisseur but the home side had to be admired for sticking to their task when it seemed the harder they tried the worse it got. After three consecutive defeats they have now got the win they were looking for and will travel to Malton next week for what will not be an easy task against a decent side looking to avoid the drop.