Carlisle take the spoils

Carlisle got the first score on the board as Wigton infringed from the kick off and full back Matthew Minnett slotted the goal. Wigton tried to respond in a positive fashion and had possession in the Carlisle half. Unfortunately, the ball was dropped and the home side quickly shifted it to fly half Damian Armstrong. He made an initial break and then passed to the supporting Minnett who, with work to do, beat the last vestiges of Wigton defence and finished with assurance. The conversion gave Carlisle an early 10-0 lead.

Wigton managed to enjoy some good possession and position in the next few minutes, but their only reward was a penalty goal from Jonny Charters. However, Carlisle were starting to look threatening. From a scrum, which wheeled the wrong way for him, Carlisle No 8 Josh Holmes picked up and broke through several tackles, making a determined twenty yard run for a try. The conversion made the score 17-3.

Carlisle hit back straight from the restart with the best try of the game. Left winger Ollie Barker carried the ball strongly out of his 22, and thereafter Carlisle kept the move alive with precise offloading and splendid support. Scrum half Matty Roper did well to keep the move alive, and after having been through several pairs of hands, the ball was passed to right winger Martin Brodie who scored. With the score 24-3 half way through the first period, Wigton were staring into the void and lesser teams would have been heading towards a huge margin of defeat. To their credit, the Greens hit back.

A turnover was won in midfield and fly half Cory Bouch sent a probing kick towards the left corner of Carlisle's 22. The ball stopped short of the line, but a good chase put the defence under pressure, bringing a penalty for going over the ball off feet. Wigton used the tap to set up a maul which was driven over the line for a try from Stuart Creighton. Creighton was to have an immense game, picking up ball at the base of the scrum on the retreat and constantly attacking the Carlisle line, breaking more tackles than anyone else in the team. A try was a fitting reward for a whole-hearted effort in adversity. Charters added the conversion to narrow the gap to 24-10.

Any hope of a great comeback was dashed just before half time when Carlisle ran a series of penalties deep in Wigton territory. A series of muscular, aggressive carries produced a try in the corner for Dan Holmes. This made the half time score 29-10.

The first try of the second half came when Carlisle, now dominant at the scrum, shoved Wigton off their own ball. Centre Dan Holmes seemed to run hard but be tackled in the visitors' 22, but he managed to shrug off the tackle and go again to surge over the line. The conversion gave Carlisle a 36-10 lead.

However, shortly afterwards the nature of the game seemed to change. Wigton upped their defence effort and Carlisle seemed to lose their focus. The fluent play of the first half gave way to somewhat indifferent handling as the game became scrappy. Carlisle continued to have the better of territory and possession, but Wigton, with only pride at stake, tried to run the ball out of defence and seek another try.

Carlisle's next try came when they were down to seven forwards as a result of Creighton being yellow carded. Skipper Tom Graham opted for a scrum and this resulted in a comfortable pushover try for Josh Holmes. The unconverted try made the score 41-10.

The visiting fans were excited when Jonny Charters showed good determination to carry play from near the tryline to halfway. Cool handling in defence also gave left winger Steven Harris a couple of runs, but it was Carlisle who had the last word when Dan Holmes scored again with the final play of the match. The final score was 48-10.

Carlisle do not look like promotion chasers, but they are capable of good performances and are blooding a lot of promising young talent. Promotion chasing sides will need to be at their best against them, especially at Warwick Road.

As for Wigton the efforts of Creighton were immense and Fergus Ledingham, skipper for the day, never stopped trying to carry the fight to Carlisle. The coaching team will be looking at setting targets to enable the team to improve and progress both as a unit and as individuals as this tricky season continues.