However, on a breezy afternoon at Ellis Park, the Zebras' challenge never really gathered momentum and they had to be satisfied with a bonus point for scoring four tries, only the second team to do that against Wigton this season.

For this match Wigton welcomed back the durable Andrew Bell, Peter Pan of the front row. Absences in the backs saw Tane Manihera return to the flyhalf slot whilst Mark Deans continued to play in the centres. Former colts forward Dan Ewart was on the bench to make his first team debut. Ryan Clark and Richard Jackson kept their places in the starting lineup, both enjoying good games.

Wigton had the wind in the first half, but did not make classical use of it by kicking for the corners. Tane Manihera put in a long raking kick at one point, but the wind blew it dead in goal. Thereafter, Wigton were more reticent to put boot to ball. Then again, given their ability to strike from deep, they did not necessarily need to bother.

The main consequence of the wind was that both sides had difficulty passing with accuracy until they became accustomed to the conditions. As a result, turnovers were frequent in the first quarter. There was also a mini-rash of interceptions as neither side was able to build continuity. For Zebras, centre Matthew Gorley made an early break which was carried on by the lively winger Rob Scott. For Wigton, Tane Manihera broke the line, but the move fizzled out with an interception.

Wigton got on the scoreboard first following a midfield scrum. The ball was moved to Will Miller on the right wing. He beat his opposite man and headed for the tryline. He was stopped by fullback John Chisnall but was able to offload to No 8 Matthew Atkinson who crossed for his 37th try of the season, a new Wigton club record. For Wigton, after one or two early creaks, the scrums went pretty well and they were able to put pressure on opposition ball.

The second try came from a Workington scrum. Scrum half Simon Beare tried a chip on the short side, but it was fielded by winger Ryan Clark. He made a good run across the field to link up with the rest of his backs. Mark Deans drew two defenders to him but was able to produce a deft pass out of contact to outside centre Ali Ledingham. He found the open spaces of the Ellis very much to his liking, outpacing the defence and having the strength to score through the last tackle for a try which he improved, producing a 0-12 scoreline.

The next try came when Wigton were awarded a penalty for a late tackle on Manihera. Touch was found five yards out from the Zebras line. There then followed a well-worked catch and drive resulting in another Atkinson try which was converted. 0-19.

However, from the kickoff Manihera lost the ball and Zebras attacked. They used their big forwards, such as David and Andrew Bowe, or Chris Tweddle, to carry the ball forward. With the ball in hand, centres Gorley and Martin Armstrong kept the defence on their mettle. After successfully retaining the ball through several phases of play, they had pulled the defence in sufficiently for there to be space for Scott to score when the ball was sent wide. That made the score 5-19.

Another penalty gave Wigton the chance for another lineout five yards away from the tryline. This time they knocked the ball on. However the ball was recovered when Zebras' scrum was disrupted. The Wigton forwards drove for the line. Russell McLean was awarded a try, popular with his Wigton team mates. However Zebras were disappointed with the decision, thinking referee Trainor had missed a fumble by the try scorer. Nevertheless, the try made the score 5-24.

The referee was involved again in a bizarre incident shortly afterwards. A series of penalties gave Workington a good position in the Wigton 22. Flyhalf Mike Fearon cut straight through the defence and put the ball down for a score. However, the referee ruled the ball was short of the line and the alert defence picked the ball up and cleared the lines. John Story won the ball on the Workington throw, but the ball was lost on halfway. It was then Zebras turn to blow a chance. They dropped the ball thirty yards from the Wigton line and it was smartly snaffled up by Clark. He made good ground up the wing, and having committed the last defender, passed inside to Ali Ledingham who ran away from the cover and scored in the left corner. He added the extras for a 5-31 lead at half time.

Zebras now had use of the wind, but they had a task on their hands to overhaul the Wigton lead without allowing any further tries. In fact Zebras had the first score as Chisnall managed to beat a defender in the 22 and give Scott the space for his second try. 10-31.

Wigton's next try was set up by strong runs by Deans and Atkinson. Forwards attacked the tryline on the right hand side of Zebras' 22. When play was switched the other way, it was second row Robert Marrs who produced a long accurate pass to Ali Ledingham. He beat a man and passed to Clark for the try. 10-36.

Zebras continued to try and use the wind to set up good positions, knowing that Wigton would struggle to kick their way out of trouble. Chisnall produced the kick of the game to find touch right in the corner. As the Workington forwards assaulted the Wigton line, the defence rose to the task. Story and Andy Brown were getting through a tremendous amount of work in attack and defence. Wigton rode out that particular storm, hitting back with try of their own. Deans and full back Gregg Smith combined to release Ryan Clark on another run to the line. His progress was halted by a high tackle. The referee decided that he would otherwise have scored and so awarded a penalty try. This was converted by Ledingham for a lead of 10-43.

Another feature of the Wigton defence was successful use of what is termed the choke tackle, where the ball carrier is held up by the defence, resulting in a scrum to them. Even when this ploy did not come off, it slowed down the ball for the attacking team.

The last quarter was Workington's most fruitful. Casual play by Wigton gave the ball away. The initial attack was resisted but the ball was moved wide resulting in a try for Carl Moffat.
Chisnall added a fine conversion.17-43.

Workington now kept their boot off the ball and tried to attack from deeper positions. However, a lack of communication resulted in the ball being passed into the hands of replacement winger Jordan Wood, who scampered away for a simple try, taking the score out to 17-48.

Workington had the final say when a series of penalties enabled them to keep their momentum going. Once again, early attacks by forwards were held but the ball was moved into the spaces to produce a try for winger Bede O' Connor. That meant that Workington at least had the consolation of a bonus point for four tries.

Wigton will be quietly pleased with this result. Everybody on the Wigton team played their part and all can reflect on their individual performances with satisfaction. There are a couple of knocks to keep an eye on for next week, but everyone will be keen to go out on a high by scoring a win over Aspatria and end the season in exactly the way it started.