Upper Eden couldn’t raise a full team so borrowed three players from the Penrith squad. Bruce Glenndining, Joseph Wilson and Nathan Tweddle volunteered in the first half and to their credit played very well –possibly too well!
Penrith started the game well with good passing and handling skills and dominated the early scrums. The pressure paid off with Penrith scoring from a penalty move with Adie Hodgson scoring an unconverted try. Penrith dominated territory early in the first half and commanded the set-pieces well with Michael Dunne and Isaac Butterworth to the fore that resulted in Dalton Frith getting over the line in far corner for Penrith’s second try of the game.
The momentum then swung to Upper Eden as they came back strongly, eager for the balland caught Penrith napping. With some excellent runs from Upper Eden, Penrith put in some hard tackles, from Will Smith and Kyle Glasson particularly. Upper Eden were not to be denied though and great passing resulted in a hard earned try for the visitors.
Penrith were rocked from their complacency and came back hard finishing the half on top. The score at half time 10-5.
SECOND HALF
Changes were made to the line up again due to injury with Harry Thompson coming off and Isaac Butterworth and Luke Jones now playing for Upper Eden. Again credit to the lads who played with full commitment against their team mates which is never easy to do.
Upper Eden got on top from the restart, charging through Penrith defence to score a try in the opening minutes of the second half making the score 10-12.
The game then turned messy and scrappy with lots of scrums that Penrith continued to dominate. There were moments of good play with an excellent catch from Bruce Glendinning and good work passing and receiving from Elliot Bulman. Good defensive play was also evident with Bobby ‘the hulk’ Greenop ripping the ball at least twice on the try line pushing through to gain ground. Penrith’s best chance in the second half came with a penalty close to the try line but the ball was lost in contact. Upper Eden regained possession and after some forward pressure managed to drive the ball over the line to score a well-earned try that was converted successfully.
The match was lost by Penrith’s inconsistent approach and Upper Eden should be proud of their result today as they wanted the win more than Penrith. Final score 10-19.
Man of the Match: Connor McKenzie (Penrith)