Furness 23 Keswick 5

A RAMPANT Furness inflicted a first Cumbria League defeat of the season on leaders Keswick at the Strawberry Grounds.

Tries from Rhys Studt, Martin Ward and Joe Mallinson plus three successful kicks by Steve Perry saw Furness go into a 23-0 lead before the visitors struck back with a consolation try close to time.

Both sides were well prepared for the encounter and entertained everyone with some quality rugby on a perfect day.

Tensions were high from the off and it was Keswick who tested the Furness defence in the first few minutes.

Crunching tackles defused Keswick advances and the tone of the game was set.

With only three minutes gone retaliation for a late shot saw Studt yellow carded and the Blues were down to 14 men.

The extra man gave Keswick the impetus but once again some solid defence from centres Matty While and Ade White nullified the waves of attack.

Keswick were intent on playing an expansive game and with reliable line out ball they were able to probe into Furness territory. On the few occasions Furness broke away they were rewarded with a penalty that Perry slotted over from nearly halfway.

Scrummaging was tight with little between the sides as the Furness front row of Paul Dean, Cam McClure and Dillan Tapatu began to dominate in the loose with some probing runs.

At the breakdown Furness were hitting the rucks with ferocity, none more so than Mike Botes, whose aggression constantly had the visitors on the back foot.

Mallinson was back to his best and never took a backward step as he charged at the Keswick defence to create holes. At the back, Sam Attard, on his debut at full-back, looked comfortable and solid, coping calmly with the Keswick barrage of high balls and flattening Keswick’s few rare breaches of the Furness defence in front of him.

Missed penalties from both sides kept the score down until, on 35 minutes, Studt scooped up the loose ball on the flank.

Dispatching the scrum half with his first hand off then swapping hands to flatten the stand off with a second text book hand off he raced under the posts from the 22 to give Perry an easy conversion on the half-time whistle. Furness came out on the offensive on the restart with Tez Nueto a constant threat with the ball in hand and his gained yards were instrumental in setting up Perry’s next penalty.

The introduction of Martin Ward from the bench had an immediate impact as he battered the Keswick pack and was rewarded when he finally found his way through, charging to the line for his first try in a Blue shirt. From that moment on it was all Furness. Andy Brannon at scrum half distributed sensibly and kept the visitors defence guessing. Corne Els and Mike Botes were always a threat and it was a sniping run from scrum half Brannon that set up Mallinson for his try in the clubhouse corner.

Keswick, to their credit, showed why they were League leaders and continued to compete and from a last- minute catch and drive they scored a consolation try on the final whistle. Furness were satisfied with the result but looked back at a missed bonus point for an extra try when the opportunities were there.

However, the coaching team were happy with the performance and in particular the solidity of the Blues defence. Man-of- the-match went to the busy Joe Mallinson but there were numerous stand out performances. Botes, Paul Dean, Nueto and Sam Attard all made impressions with the centre partnership of While and White catching the eye.

Dillan Taputu, playing out of position at prop, was solid and of course Studt was always looking for an opportunity. Referee Garson kept the game flowing and was firm but fair to both sides on the day.

Furness would like to thank sponsors for the day RF Millar Accountants and Barton Townley for the superb new strip.