At this point in the season, most clubs are frustrated by the number of injuries they accumulate, and despite being top of the league, Wigton are no exceptions. Yesterday they called upon their 30th player of the season and Coach Brown had ten players unavailable with injuries of varying degrees. Mark Lee and Peter Dobson both withdrew with injuries, so into the squad came Wanderers' Captain Dan Reed and Vice Captain Liam Graves. Ryan Clark started on the wing and hooker Kevin Robinson came onto the bench. During the course of the action Andrew Bell, David Hanabury and Gregg Smith were all withdrawn from the fray. Wigton will hope that with a week off next week, they should be able to put out a strong team against Workington at home.

A major feature of the season has been how easily players from that Wanderers have been comfortable and confident when stepping up to first team action and fitting into the game plan. Indeed, the ability to cover injuries with minimum disruption has been key to Wigton's success.

A large contingent of travelling supporters made the trip to Kirkby Stephen where the pitch was heavy underfoot, but the air was calm with little wind. Upper Eden proved to be very resilient and their front five were generally thought to be the most capable Wigton have faced this season, especially at scrum time. They were well practised with driving mauls, often getting into good attacking positions, but lack of composure in the red zone meant they did not make the most of their chances.

The home pack showed a steely determination in defence, ensuring that Wigton's ball carrying forwards did not have things their own way. However Wigton have several strings to their bows. They dominated the line outs through Atkinson and Henderson, whilst the pace of the back three on the counter attack gave the home side problems all afternoon as clearance kicks were run back with interest.

In the pack James Brough and John Story had strong games whilst Hanabury directed play astutely from fly half with Will Miller also prominent. Man of the Match award went to winger Jordan Wood, who had his best all round game for the Team. He showed lively pace all afternoon and stayed on his feet well in contact. The fact that one of the smallest players in the team was Man of the Match this week, and Robert Marrs, one of the largest, picked up the award last week, shows that rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes. Skill, heart and determination to succeed are every bit as important as physique.

Upper Eden opened the scoring after some lively initial work when Wigton were caught offside in midfield. Matt Allison kicked the goal to open a 3-0 lead. It was not long before Wigton responded with a typical long range try. A quick line out in our own 22 gave Gregg Smith the chance to open up play. Ledingham and Miller were involved with Wood being released on a forty yard run. A quick ruck ball saw Ledingham send Skipper Atkinson galloping over for his 16th try of the season. Smith's conversion widened the gap to 3-7.

In the twenty eighth minute a long penalty touch finder by Ledingham setup a line out on the home 5 metre line. After several phases of play, Hanabury was the provider for Brough who crashed over becoming the nineteenth try score of the season. Brough is one of the real work horses of the pack, carrying strongly, tackling well and running tirelessly in support. As he grows into the position of hooker he will be very pleased with his accurate throwing at the lines in the match. Smith conversion made the score 3-14.

It was not long before Wigton were on the scoreboard again, when, following a midfield scrum, a well-executed backs move again released Wood on a long run. Hanabury was in support to take the pass for an unimproved try which gave Wigton a 3-19 lead.

Upper Eden showed plenty of character and before half time came up with a score of their own. A penalty set up a line out on the Wigton five metre line. A catch and drive saw the ball mauled over the line for a score by David Dent, this always looking the most likely way for the home team to score a try. 8-19

Wigton scored three more tries in the second half as Upper Eden battled not just against the green attacks but also their own fatigue. Upper Eden had a good position early on in the half but Hanabury produced a prodigious clearance kick which was successfully chased by Story and Miller. The ball was turned over and as Wigton kept the ball alive, it was Miller, looking increasing comfortable in his centre role, who crossed for another unimproved try to make it 8-24.

As the home team tired, Atkinson took a quick tap on his own line, passing to Marrs, who made ground and released Wood on a 70 yard try scoring run. Wood showed too much gas for the defence, outstripping them with a tiger in his tank for an impressive piece of finishing. Smith's conversion mad the score 8-31.

The final try was scored by Ledingham who, after several phases of play, demonstrated that the hardest thing to defend against is pace and ran over in the corner. Smith was unable to add the extra points with a difficult kick so the final score was 8-36.

Much has been made of Wigton's try scoring and today saw the 91st try in twelve matches. However, equally impressive is the defensive record which is miserly in the extreme. Wigton have not yet conceded a hundred points and even when comfortably ahead, defend their line with a real passion.

Barring Coach Brown arranging some last minute ice baths in Poland, next week gives Wigton a break before they entertain Workington at Lowmoor Road. Another fixture to look forward to is a home tie against Carlisle in the semi-final of the Cumbria Cup.