Penrith were able to field a strong pack for their first visit to Anselmians on the Wirral and that enabled them to post their first away win of the season at the fourth attempt. James Hogg and Mike Stephens provided the grunt in the second row, Mike Raine stepped up to the plate following the long term injury to Liam Tunstall and New Zealander Ryan Lee got his first start and made his presence felt.
The hosts were only one place off the foot of the league before kick off but that's not how it looked for the first quarter of the game, there was nothing between the two sides as they went toe to toe and tested each other's defences with periods of possession. Penrith might have just looked the more incisive of the two but there was little to choose between them and it was the home side that opened the scoring.
A poor clearance kick gave Anselmians an attacking lineout in the Penrith 22, they won the ball cleanly and went for the driven maul to the line but the Cumbrian forwards were up to the task, when the ball was eventually moved wide they found the gap all too easily to score the opening try.
It went unconverted and Penrith looked to counter, they were looking dangerous but just couldn't keep the ball for long enough and the odd error gifted the ball back to the home side. They kicked a penalty to the corner and although Dan Greenwood took the throw cleanly the pack couldn't quite muscle their way over.
Their opening score came from their defence, Jay Rossi got back well to make the tackle after a half break and the home side were penalised at the breakdown, they were then marched back a further 10m as they hindered George Graham trying to take a quick tap and go. It was nicely within Nathan Wooff's kicking range so rather than kicking to the corner they took the points on offer and trailed by two.
Penrith were now getting into their stride, strong running by Stephens and Craig Price got them good field position and on the front foot, Graham saw his chance and with a show of the ball broke down the fringes. With the last man to beat and with Stephens on his shoulder he slipped him the ball and Stephens crashed over under the posts and a simple conversion saw the visitors five points to the good.
It was now the home team's turn to turn the screw, Penrith were desperately defending on their own line and then lost Hogg to a yellow card. The home side opted for a 5m scrum but the seven remaining forwards held them out, the referee decided they had done so illegally and from the penalty Anselmians again opted for the 5m scrum. Again the Penrith scrummage held firm but this time they spun the ball and a miss move in the backs created the try and the successful conversion gave the hosts a two point lead.
Penrith came storming back, a Rossi break took play deep into the home 22 and Graham got himself over the line but was held up. The visitors had a 5m scrum which allowed Raine at No8 to gather and go, Matt Allinson, Stephens and Lee all went close to getting over the line but it was Graham who managed to ground the ball at the foot of the post who claimed the try. Wooff's kick gave the visitors a 17-12 half time lead and it still looked like anyone's game
Anselmians started the second half brightly and were threatening the Penrith line but spilt the ball forward. Rossi collected the ball in his own deadball area and saw an opportunity that a lot of others wouldn't. He jinked from behind his own line, beat a couple of tacklers before shipping the ball to Brad Taylor, he found Jamie McNaughton on his 22 who was up against one of the home forwards. It was no contest as McNaughton slipped around him and sped down the touchline to score a runaway try.
If this didn't take the wind out of the sails of the home side a flowing move four minutes later certainly did, the ball was played out of contact twice before Rossi put in another mazy run to bag the fourth try. Penrith now led 29-12 and the game as a contest was over.
Penrith added to their score after play was halted for an injured home player, they were on the attack and play resumed with a scrum some 15m out, Raine tidied the ball at the base of the scrum and set Graham away, he wriggled through a couple of tackles before giving a return pass to Raine who went in under the posts.
It only remained for the home side to get themselves a consolation try which they probably deserved and Rossi claimed a second score after good attacking play when a long pass to the left found him unmarked on the wing.
It was a well deserved win in a game that could have gone either way in the first half, Penrith had stuck to their task and played some decent rugby and this bonus point win saw them climb to fifth in the league. If David Preston could field this pack every week he would see his side climb even higher.