In truth, neither team played as well as they did in the fixture at Keswick which produced a 72-7 win for Wigton earlier this season. Keswick, stretched by unavailabilities, presented little scoring threat, whilst Wigton came up with more errors than usual, being prone to losing the ball in contact, often whilst looking for the offload, and once again they came off second best in the penalty count.

Having said that, some of Wigton's play was still very good, just a little short of the consistency and precision that will enable them to win tougher matches than this.

The first try was set up when Ali Ledingham, operating at full back, fielded a kick on the run and took play from the Wigton 22 to the Keswick 22. Keswick were unable to clear their lines and Wigton went through the phases before moving the ball to the left short side where David Hanabury was able to slip through the defence for the first try. Ali Ledingham was unable to convert, but was successful with six of his ten attempts, narrowly missing a couple more.

From the kick off, Wigton again took play deep into Keswick territory, before being forced into touch. The Keswick lineout did not have a prosperous day, with many of their throws being snaffled up by Atkinson and Brown. This was a case in point as the forwards drove forward and Will Miller made a break in the centre. Keswick were caught offside about ten yards out so Wigton's go-to short range penalty move produced a driven maul and a try for Matthew Atkinson, which was converted for a 12-0 lead after ten minutes. Unfortunately for Wigton, hooker and proud new father, James Brough, left the field with a knee injury, bringing on David Waning and a reshaped front row. Brough has grown into the hooking role this season and has practised hard with his throwing, which coupled to his high work rate, makes him a very useful cog in the Wigton machine.

Once again, Wigton were able to break shortly after kick off, with flankers Lee and Brown interchanging passes. Throughout the day, many of Wigton most fluent rugby came when one or other of these two supported the backs. The pass broke down with a knock-on in the Keswick 22. However, with their scrum under pressure, the scrambled clearance kick failed to find touch and was seized upon by Ali Ledingham. He raced down the right flank, interchanging passes with winger Jordan Wood, for a try which he converted himself. 19-0.

Wigton's next try was the best of the match, and one of the best off the season so far. Keswick's kickoff went straight out and they were penalised at the subsequent scrum. Wigton took a tap near halfway and produced a move straight off the training ground. The ball was carried up by lock Marrs and recycled. His second row partner Deans made more ground. The recycled ball was released to the backs where Hanabury ran a move which brought Ledingham onto the ball at pace, piercing the defence. Lee was on the inside in support and he moved it inside again to Hanabury who finished off a cracker. The conversion gave Wigton a bonus point and a 26-0 lead inside twenty minutes.

However, the flood gates did not open. Keswick stuck to their task and had more possession when they picked up on some dropped balls by Wigton, who also conceded a number of free kicks and penalties. Keswick's best position of the match saw them get a lineout on the Wigton five metre line, but they eventually lost possession and Wigton drove a lineout twenty yards to clear. Another, often ignored feature of this Wigton side, is their determination to deny opponents even a consolation score. Deep in the second half, there was a lot of animated back slapping and encouragement of team mates when a Keswick attack was foiled.

Wigton had chances to add to their lead. Marrs was held up over the line. An attempt at a pushover try was lost when the scrum moved too quickly and control of the ball was lost. Another seemingly try- bound scrum was penalised by referee Martin Plummer for not driving straight. Thus halftime came without Wigton adding to their 26-0 lead.

Keswick started the second period in disappointing fashion by dropping the ball at the kick off. Wigton seized on the loose ball, moving it to first one side then the other as they probed for an opening. Finally it was shifted to the right wing where Scott Smith scored as the defenders were outnumbered.

Shortly afterwards Keswick's plight was worsened when stand off O'Brien was yellow carded as the team had been warned by the referee for persistent offside infringements. The ball was tapped to set up another driving maul for Wigton, resulting in a second try for Atkinson and a 36-0 score.

Keswick started once again to get some possession but had little success against an enthusiastic defence. At one point Keswick tried a very speculative drop at goal from about thirty five yards. They produced a good kick to halfway to clear their lines after another Wigton foray. However, a quick throw in caught the defence out of position. The ball moved through the hands of Hanabury and Atkinson to give Scott Smith an unopposed run in for his second try.

Keswick gained possession when Wigton were penalised about forty yards out. However, as they moved the ball around without gaining much forward momentum, it was intercepted by centre Richard Moffatt who headed for the line. As he sensed the defence gaining on him, he passed the ball to Atkinson who bust a gut to get into a supporting position and complete another hat trick. The conversion made it 48-0. Atkinson soon added a fourth try following another quickly taken penalty. As he received the ball he found a gap in the tiring defence to touch down. Ledingham's conversion took the score to 55-0. Skipper Atkinson has had a lot of good-natured leg pulling about his try- scoring this season - not passing, scoring at the back of mauls etc, but his record of twenty five tries so far should be allowed to reflect his value as a player. He is looked to as the main source of ball in the lines and is a frontline ball carrier. Coupled to this he has a very high work rate as evidenced by his run to support Richard Moffatt. He has plenty of pace for a big man and can be devastating when supporting in open spaces.

As the match petered out, Wigton went through another spell of conceding penalties as they were not quite clinical enough. However, Keswick, whilst having good field position, had little to show for their efforts, an eye catching run from winger Ben Rigby being the highlight. Wigton were not prepared to concede a try even at this late stage.

It was Wigton who had the last word. Keswick's scrum, finishing well, got a push in the scrum, but Lee was able to tidy up effectively. The ball reached Hanabury, who exchanged passes with Ali Ledingham before scoring himself. Ledingham added the conversion. The greens had a chance of one last try, but the attempt to tap a penalty only resulted in a knock on. The whistle blew with a final score of 62-0.

Atkinson duly picked up the sponsors Man of the Match award as chosen by Wigton Veterans. This was his third four try haul of the season. Will Miller topped the tackle count, Deans and Marrs led the carries and Hanabury had a fine game orchestrationg play from 10.

Next week Wigton travel to Mirehouse to tackle St Benedicts, whose form has improved since the sides met at Wigton earlier in the season. Seats are available on the coach for supporters - please add your names to the list in the club - back in wigton by 9.00 pm at the latest.