Penrith got their home win and a bonus point which is as much as they could do but it was a strange game which lacked any real drama or passion. Altrincham only travelled with 15 men so had no one on the bench and it was soon very obvious how the game was going to pan out. Jamie McNaughton scored a try in the second minute, completed his hat trick in just over a quarter of an hour on his way to bagging a total of five tries and a conversion.
With an easy victory on the cards from the off concentration levels suffered and there was a lack of intensity especially in defence but in attack the home side showed some endeavour and scored a number of excellent tries. Nick Dudson made his first start for the team and David Preston shuffled his backs moving Mike Fearon to inside centre following the injury to Arran Pamphilon the week before allowing Dudson his chance, he was instrumental in the first try, first making a nice break to set up the field position and then finding McNaughton with a well timed inside pass to break the defensive line and score.
The second try came when an Altrincham forward took Ryan Johnson and Andy Muir head on, he was knocked back, stripped of the ball, Johnson made yards and then Lewis Birkbeck drove on before the ball came right and McNaughton picked the gap to score the second.
The visitors may not have had any replacements but were game throughout, their heads never dropped and they made the very best of their situation. They were next to score following a break down their left wing and a touch down in the corner.
McNaughton completed his hat trick following a defensive kick to touch by the visitors, it was quickly taken to Fearon and with a slow chase their was the time and space to set McNaughton away down the wing to run in unopposed.
The visitors were seeing quite a bit of the ball and were pressing deep in the home 22 when the ball was turned over, Fearon and Dudson set McNaughton away to almost half way where he kicked the ball ahead to the corner and Dudson won the chase to claim the try. The Manchester team did score next following a penalty kick to the corner where they won their lineout and forced the score.
Just before the break Penrith had a 5m scrum and looked certain to score but the ball squirted out out of control, George Graham managed to secure possession and the forwards set up a series of drives for the line and it was Muir who eventually forced his way over. Penrith turned round 33-12 to the good and the second half followed in similar vein.
Dudson opened the home side's account in the second half when he stole the ball from an Altrincham player running the ball in and outpaced the cover from inside his own half to score. Dan Richardson made the break for the next, the ball then was spun wide for Fearon and Brad Taylor to run the ball deep into the 22 and Matty Boustead finished off the move.
By now the visitors had lost a player to injury and were down to 14 men but they were still up for it, They scored next from a penalty kicked to the corner for an attacking lineout and then in similar circumstances with a penalty kick to the corner. That was their fourth try and a bonus point which they celebrated like a win.
Normal service was resumed and an Archie Rattray turnover allowed Fearon to set McNaughton up for his fourth try and good work by Adam Howe and Graham saw him claim his fifth.
A lack of concentration in defence allowed the visitors a fifth try, the ball then ran loose at the restart and was tidied up by Graham who made the break to set Taylor up with a clear run in. Fearon then set Dudson up for his side's eleventh try and his own hat trick score and Taylor added a twelfth after good work by the backs to complete the scoring.
Penrith will have more difficult days but they did what they had to do, their minds now shift to Douglas and the Isle of Man