Penrith's preparations for the vital game against Douglas were not ideal, they had already been piecing a side together with several of their stand out players missing with long term injuries when they had two late injury cry offs on Friday. This resulted in young wing forward Adrigh Cole starting on the left wing and three front row forwards on the bench. Also probably more importantly, ex captain Ryan Johnson answered the last minute call for help and started only his second game of the season in the second row. He put in a real shift for the side and if things got a little physical, which they did a time or two, he was in among it leading from the front.
The game was played in a howling gale, which only abated slightly on odd occasions throughout the game and the home side played into it in the first half. Douglas opened the scoring in the first five minutes when Penrith were adjudged offside in front of their own posts and the visitors kicked an easy penalty with the wind. This early setback didn't dampen home spirits and they launched into the Isle of Man side, won a series of penalties and had some good possession in the oppositions 22 despite the wind.
Their efforts were rewarded when they scored the first try of the game, from a scrum close to the line Mike Raine and George Graham combined to get the ball away, Graham made a dart before finding Dan Richardson on his inside who twisted and turned and with a long arm got the touch down. There was a slight respite in the gale and Nathan Wooff did well to thread his conversion attempt over.
Penrith were more than holding their own and would be disappointed to go behind after 20 minutes, the visiting backs had looked sharp in the game earlier in the season and although they were contained for most of this game they got away down their left and manufactured an overlap to get the winger away on the outside to score a try in the corner.
The conversion was almost impossible in the windy conditions and was missed but a much easier penalty chance was taken for a high tackle and at the break Douglas had a 11-7 lead after their use of the elements, but it wasn't a complete disaster for Penrith as they now had the wind at their backs.
Penrith were on a mission as the second half started and did their best to play simple rugby through the forwards, short passes and hard driving play were the order of the day. All the forwards played their part but Josh Dowson was outstanding running the ball up at pace at every opportunity and taking the game to the Manx side.
The Cumbrians got their noses in front after they took a scrum following a yellow card offence by a visiting defender on his own line. Raine set the ball up for first Adam Howe and then Will Morgan, Mike Hawley, playing his first game for the club for five seasons, saw his chance, flew over to the blind side to take the pass and crashed over from five yards
The conversion sailed wide on the wind but Penrith had the slenderest of leads.
It was from another scrum, this time outside the 22 that they extended their lead. The home eight were solid all afternoon and Raine took advantage of a good clean strike and was off the back of the scrum before the visiting back row forwards moved, he romped into the 22 and put Graham away on the outside. He stepped back inside and Jon Fell on the wing could see he was in no position to take a pass so he also switched back inside, took a pop pass and carried the last defender over the line with him.
Penrith now had the bit between their teeth and the fourth and bonus point try was wholly down to the forwards. They drove for the line time after time, kept their patience and kept the defence under pressure. Fittingly it was Johnson who came up with the try as with one last massive effort he bulldozed his way over. This time the conversion was good and the home side started to look comfortable at 24-11 up.
With ten minutes to go Fell put the icing on the cake with a fifth try, he saw his chance as a telegraphed pass was thrown to his opposite number and he stepped up and took the interception. The only question was would he have the gas to stay clear of the chasers as he didn't have that much of a start on them, the answer was yes and he showed them a clean pair of heels to go in under the posts from his own 22.
Douglas got a consolation try in the final minutes and it was the first time they had threatened the home line in the second half which showed how well Penrith had played in the second half. They now face a tricky away game at Broughton Park but if they can somehow play with the same spirit and tenacity down there they will take some beating