Penrith's season finally gained a bit of momentum as they won their
first away game of the campaign at Sandal, it was also the first time
they have won two consecutive games this season. They played very well
for long periods of the game but were guilty of letting the opposition
get back into the game rather than killing it off.
The afternoon was completely dominated by the weather conditions, a
howling gale was blowing straight down the pitch which left the team
playing into it with little option but run the ball and keep it tight,
kicking the ball into he wind was all but out of the question and
speculative long passes were definitely for another day.
Penrith played into the wind first and played almost the perfect game
for 39 minutes, they gathered the kick off and ran straight at the
heart of the Sandal defence. They were awarded a penalty at the first
scrum and another shortly after, strong running by the whole side but
by Sandy Kerridge, Mike Raine and Gary Hodson in particular won them a
penalty under the home side's posts. Steve Wood put the ball over into
the teeth of the gale and after five minutes Penrith were three points
up and Sandal hadn't laid a hand on the ball.
Sandal did get their hands on the ball for long periods as the half
went on but the Penrith defence was sound, they stood up to be counted
and the line held firm, Billy Barton set a great example but James
Thornton and Sandy Kerridge wouldn't be far behind his tackle count.
Because of the wind the game was largely played in the visitor's half,
a measure of the influence the wind had on proceedings was on being
awarded a penalty under their own posts they had to run it as kicking
for touch was an impossibility. This did have its advantages as with
all the home defenders drawn to the forward drive a ball moved quickly
to James Ellar saw him use the space to break from his own 22, get over
half way only to see a possible scoring pass go down in the wind.
Penrith were to get a second score into the wind, Paul Newton broke
blind from a scrum on half way, drew in the winger and set Ed Swale on
his way, he took play well into the 22 and when the ball came back to
the left Barton looked to have the line at his mercy but not being
greedy made sure he drew the last defender and gave Hodgson the
simplest of tries. Wood again converted into the wind and the Cumbrians
had a useful 10 point lead. Almost on the stroke of half time Penrith
lost their concentration and allowed the home side back into the game,
first they kicked a penalty and then in added time scored when poor
tackling allowed them to cross for a soft try.
Penrith would have taken a two point lead at half time against the wind
but they had given the initiative in the final minutes to the home side
and as a result they started the second half strongly, they were to
almost go ahead as their stand off chipped the defenders on the Penrith
22, caught his own kick but could not beat Mike Hawley who was the last
line of defence. Wood was to settle Penrith nerves as he gave a master
class on how to use the elements, he kept pegging them back making full
use of the wind, then chipped over a wind assisted penalty from
distance. He then released Ellar who put Hawley away wide out who
scored a classic try, stepping back inside the cover each time they
tried to cut him off. Wood's conversion extended the lead to 12 points
and that should have been that. Sandal though played much better into
the wind and Penrith could not quite finish them off. Sandal's efforts
earned them a penalty under the posts which they took, Wood pegged them
back with another penalty from distance before they scored a second try
to cut the deficit to seven.
The two sides excanged penalties again in the closing minutes and the
home side earned themselves a losing bonus point but the Cumbrians were
delighted with their well earned win. It makes the league table much
more pleasant reading with an eight poit cushion opening up between
them and the relagation zone.