This was Penrith's fifth game and their first outside the county, following three home games and a trip to near neighbours Keswick and it would be the first real test of this season's away form. After showing a bit of early intent following a sharp break from No8 Josh Dowson from the base of the scrum which took them deep into home territory it was back to last season's away trip fare, at least for a while.
Penriith's cause was not helped by having to make nine changes, four of them positional, to the side that had performed so well the week before. A last minute cry off also meant head coach David Preston had to start the game, extending his illustrious playing career into yet another season.
For the first half hour the visitors were poor, their defence had improved markedly this season but for that 30 minute period it let them down badly. Their lack of intensity invited the home side to run at them and they found plenty of gaps and at the end of the first quarter they had scored three unanswered tries and led by 17 points.
At this point it looked as if the Penrith heads might go down and a cricket score ensue but they started to rally and get into their game and then came up with a score of their own. Dowson took lineout ball close to the home line and the visitor's eight rumbled towards the line, they were brought to a halt on the line and captain Ed Swale, who had moved up to scrum half for this game, sneaked around the blind side, threw a dummy, and dived over.
The Cumbrians were beginning to get into the game but not before they conceded another soft try but they then injected some much needed pace into their game and finished the first half on a high. Dowson again secured lineout ball on the home 22 and Craig Price then cut a line that saw him cut clean through the home defensive line to bear down on the line, he was dragged down just short and the forwards piled in before the ball was spun quickly right, the overlap was on and Olly Gutteridge put Fraser Nicolson in to claim the try wide out.
Penrith then scored from the restart, the ever dangerous Brook Birley put some pace on the ball from deep, after he was stopped the ball again went right and this time it was Jay Rossi who found himself in space, he looked to be short of support but spun out of the last tackle and made it to the line.
Penrith turned around at the break 24-15 in arrears but it was a lot better than it might have been and they were still in with a shout. As the second half got underway they looked as if they might well run away with it as they upped the tempo and looked the better side. Birley took a ball direct from the scrum and caused all sorts of problems, Dowson and Tom Lindsay then combined to get in behind the first line of defence, the home side were struggling to get organised and Penrith had an overlap and it was Price who got over to fetch the visitors within four points.
They then looked to claim the lead, Swale and Gutteridge went close after a quickly taken tap penalty and there were other chances before the home side, who had been dominated in the third quarter, came slowly back into the game. They kicked a penalty to lead by seven points which would still have left Penrith with two bonus points but as the game reached its conclusion the home side were in the ascendancy and the visitors were hanging grimly on.
A fifth try for Broughton Park was on the cards and it duly came when their winger hit the line at pace and scored under the posts. Penrith did have the chance to get back within seven points when a home player was yellow carded on his own line and Penrith ran a couple of tap penalties close to the line but couldn't breach the defence.
The performance after the first half hour had been brave but they had given the Park side too big a start, worthy of mention was the performance of the three Penrith 17 year olds on the bench. Forwards Bryn Jeremiah and Aiden Cavaghan came and put themselves about and scrum half Hugh Burne got on for the last ten minutes and looked more than comfortable at this level. Again worthy of mention was the bravery of Lindsay, playing with a broken hand he sustained a bad wound to the side of his head and had to leave the field on three occasions, each time he came back cleaned up and patched up to the fray and continued to put his body on the line.