Carlisle take precious points in derby match

Before the kick off, the pre match chat was about who was not playing: Carlisle were without fly half Glenn Weightman, whilst Wigton were missing Hooker Richard Jackson, Flanker John Story and their half back pairing of Fergus Ledingham and David Hanabury. When it came down to it, who played at half back was almost irrelevant, as the post match chat was all about Carlisle's efficient scrummaging which legal or not, was the defining factor of this match, providing Carlisle with four precious points.

Wigton kicked off with the breeze at their backs and had an early spell of possession which ended when they were penalised for hands in the ruck. A run of 5 penalties in 7 minutes ensured that Carlisle dominated early possession and field play. They invariably lined up with a narrow front, trying to carry the ball through the home line. However, Wigton's defence was equal to the task, several times pushing ball carriers back over the gain line, with Miller and Deans making some momentum halting tackles.

In these early exchanges, Carlisle full back Andy Glendinning went off injured. The visitors reshaped their back line, bringing back row forward Lee Brumpton into the inside centre slot.

When Wigton got their hands on the ball again from a scrum, they quickly moved the ball wide and winger Tom Gardner found space to run into. He passed out to full back Ryan Clark running up in support. As the cover defence came across, Clark's return pass to Gardner, attempting to go over the heads of the defenders, went forward.

Nevertheless, Wigton were soon awarded a scrum in the Carlisle 22, in a threatening attacking position. Thus far each side had won its own scrum ball, albeit with Carlisle getting a nudge on, but that was soon to change. On this scrum the Carlisle front row got under their opposite numbers and drove Wigton off the ball. Scrum half James Rocke produced a clearance kick and stand off Damien Armstrong fielded the return punt. Armstrong then spotted a gap and put Carlisle on the front foot as he surged strongly upfield. Good support carried on the move and a couple of passes later, Brumpton crashed over in the right hand corner for an unimproved try and a 0-5 scoreline.

From this point on, the Carlisle eight were in charge at scrum time. Some of the home supporters wondered whether they were guilty of driving upwards, but there was no denying the cohesion of their tight work. To add to Wigton's concerns, there were signs that Carlisle were starting to get their catch and drive functioning. Each side was pretty successful in winning their own lineouts with Atkinson doing the bulk of the catching for Wigton, while Carlisle's favourite target man was Feeney.

Given their scrummaging difficulties, Wigton were to come to rely on lineouts for possession. From one such line, the ball was passed out and Richard Moffatt made an outside break taking him deep into Carlisle territory. A try was beckoning, but the pass from Will Miller to winger Steve Harris lacked precision.

From another line, Miller did tremendously well to pick up a difficult ball and Carlisle were penalised by referee Denvir for side entry at a ruck. This enabled Gardner to kick a goal to make the score 3-5.

Wigton were soon on the attack again as Gardner and flanker Mark Deans linked well. Gardner kicked another penalty when Atkinson was pulled down at a lineout, giving Wigton a 6-5 lead. At this point Wigton often got themselves into promising attacking positions but even with the scrummage feed, Carlisle were putting on the pressure. As the half time whistle blew, the feeling was that with such scrum dominance, Carlisle did not necessarily have to play a lot of expansive rugby to win, whereas Wigton were starting to feel the pressure to made the most of every piece of possession.

Sure enough, the first significant action of the half saw Wigton lose their own ball. With defenders on the back foot, Armstrong made a storming run almost reaching the line in the corner. When the ball was recycled Carlisle had men over and Brumpton was put outside the last defender to go over by the post. The conversion gave Carlisle a 6-12 lead.

Wigton now were really starved of possession. Carlisle avoided kicking for touch and started moving the ball around a bit more. Problems were compounded when skipper Andy Brown,, left the field with a hand injury with Mark Lee coming out of the back row to fill in at nine; Andrew Prentice joined the back 5.

As Carlisle got a lineout drive going, Wigton were penalised for coming in at the side. Armstrong planted the ball into the corner and Carlisle fancied repeating the trick to drive over the line. However Wigton's defence stood up and they managed to rip the ball free, starting a counter attack from behind their own line and getting the ball up to midfield.

However, if Carlisle could now play without needing to worry about handling errors, Wigton seemed edgy, sensing that if they mishandled, it could be a while before they got their hands on the ball again. There was a mini revival when Elliot Armstrong came on at hooker to provide Wigton a couple of balls on their own scrum. In addition, a few penalties meant that Wigton entered the visitors' 22 for a rare visit. However, now it was Carlisle's turn to show determination in defence and some aggressive work at the breakdown. The attacks were resisted and Armstong was able to use the breeze to push Wigton back into their own territory.

Carlisle's next points came from a penalty when Wigton were harshly punished for wheeling the scrum, Armstrong pushed the score out to 6-15. As Wigton felt the pressure to chase the game a simple knock on gave the ball back to Carlisle. From possession at the scrum, No 8 Feeney ran diagonally and passed to Armstrong who ran a great angled line to power over by the sticks. Curiously, he missed the simple conversion but was, along with his front row, one of the dominant figures of the game.

The match ended with Carlisle chasing a fourth try to register a rare bonus point, but Wigtons effective defence was able to deny them.

The win takes Carlisle out of the relegation zone with Liverpool St Helens looking favourites to take the third relegation spot. If they are unable to overcome doomed Leigh at home, one wonders where they will find the points for survival. Carlisle have given themselves a lifeline whilst Wigton still have breathing space.

However, it would be nice to nail down the relatively small number of points which would make us safe. Cumbrian derbies with Kendal and KIrkby Lonsdale and a Cup Semi Final against Penrith still offer the opportunity for Wigton to finish the season on the front foot and reflect the undoubted progress the whole squad has made since September in this demanding league.

The match was sponsored by Richard Chester and around 50 Elite Younger Farmers. Their verdict was that despite strong games from Atkinson, Deans and Marrs the M O M award should go to centre Will Miller who coincidentally was making his 50th 1st XV appearance. Hooker Tom Graham took the Carlisle award.