Keswick 2nd XV battled their way to a 33-0 win over Creighton RUFC’s 1st XV in Cumbria 1 with a dominating performance, running in five tries for the bonus point win, writes Ben Challis.
Keswick started quickly with Olly Dunn powering down the right wing to dive over for an unconverted try, followed over five minutes later by Ally Hewlett-Smith who burrowed in under a pile of defenders, the try converted by Ste Holloway.
With Ethan Black denied just a yard from the Creighton try line, it didn’t take long for Joe Quail, who is enjoying a fantastic run of form, to increase Keswick’s lead with his first try, again converted by Holloway for 19-0 just twelve minutes in.
Creighton regrouped and held out against repeated attacks from Keswick, with Black, Dunn, Liam Quail and Ben Clark all finding space to push forwards and gain valuable yards, although some wayward passes wasted some real chances.
It wasn’t all one way, with Creighton advancing into Keswick territory, but solid, well organised and brave defending held the visitors back, and it was 19-0 at the half time break.
The second half started with an immediate score for Josh Clark who used brute strength to power through the Creighton defence, this try converted by Ben Clark, and the game now looked beyond the visitors grasp.
With Ben Clark, Oli Clark, Johnny Morland and Keelan Johnson battering into the Creighton defence, Keswick finished their scoring after sustained pressure, when a scrum close to the visitors’ try line released Joe Quail who was well placed to dive in for the fifth and final try, again converted by Clark.
The final 10 minutes saw repeated Keswick attacks, driven by the running of the impressive duo of Liam Quail and Ben Clark, and a touchdown for Thomas Downes, frustratingly chalked off for a knock on.
This was Keswick Seconds’ fifth win on the bounce, and losses on the day for Whitehaven to Penrith II (36-29) and St Benedict’s to Hawcoat Park (45-26) moved the Keswick into sixth spot in the Cumbria 1 table, just one point behind fifth placed Millom.
Head coach Garry Holmes said “Playing Creighton in consecutive weeks was a tough ask in Cumbria 1. The last meeting was fresh in the memory and teams understand each others strengths and weaknesses.
“The lads have done extremely well dominating the set piece but also put on a a big defensive display to hold Creighton to zero points.
“We spent time with the squad in training working on our backs’ defence, slow ball, and maul defence, and the lads seem to have taken this into the game.
“They now have a week with no game before going to Windermere. Staying sharp this week and training hard will be key to continuing this great run.”
