IT was the great American football coach Vince Lombardi who was once quoted as postulating: “What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to getting better.”

Rewind exactly one year from yesterday's play-off final and as the sun started to set on a balmy evening in the south of France, Barrow Raiders were left reflecting on a 10-point defeat to Toulouse Olympique in the Kingstone Press League One play-off final.

On that occasion, there was very little expectation on Paul Crarey's side to overcome their French opponents, who went into the final as huge favourites after suffering a shock defeat to Rochdale Hornets in the championship decider.

This year had already been an improvement on 2016, with the Raiders having finished second to ensure home advantage for the play-off final. However, their opponents this time were no less formidable, coming in the form of fellow Cumbrians Whitehaven.

But that education received from that 32-22 defeat in Toulouse – in which nine of the Raiders' 17-man squad yesterday played – plus the previous two league encounters away to Haven, came to the fore as the hosts managed to claw their way to a 10-6 victory in an incredible tense encounter.

Given how both the regular season and Super Eights clashes had been so closely-fought, it was little surprise this turned out to be the closest thing rugby league has to trench warfare as well, with opportunities at a premium in the rain and mud at Craven Park.

It is no surprise either, given the conditions and the season-defining nature of the occasion, both teams came up with a number of handling errors, along with at times falling foul of the stringent law interpretations from Super League referee Scott Mikalauskas – particularly around the ruck.

Whitehaven player-coach Carl Forster, who led from the front as ever, might have been left feeling particularly hard done-by after having two possible tries chalked off in the second half as well – the first for an obstruction in the build-up to Elliott Miller going over and the second when Stuart Roper was deemed to have knocked on before getting the ball down.

Paul Crook's kicking game – a danger highlighted in the build-up to the final by Crarey – caused problems for Barrow at times too, yet the hosts managed to hold their composure enough to set Shane Toal up for two unconverted tries which ultimately sealed promotion for them.

Winger Toal has been one of many stand-out players for the Raiders this year and ended the year with 24 tries to his name after his double in the final, underlining how prolific he has been.

But his work in defence deserves highlighting too and as has often been the case throughout the season, the Ulverstonian proved adept at dealing with the majority testing high balls Crook sent in his direction.

The signs were there this was going to be something of a battle from the opening seconds when a clash of heads left Forster and Barrow skipper Ollie Wilkes needing deep cuts bandaging by their respective medical staffs following a clash of heads.

Haven were on the front foot early on though following two penalties, but were unable to find a way through some stubborn Raiders defence.

And when Barrow were able to attack, they forced a drop-out which led to Joe Bullock taking the ball up and it then being moved out to full-back Fieldhouse, who produced a superb cut-out pass to send Toal racing in for his first try after 11 minutes.

It became something of a war of attrition after that score – that was until the 45th minute when Haven capitalised on a spell of pressure at the start of the second half. Hooker James Newton dabbed a grubber through from close range which Barrow failed to deal with, and Dion Aiye got the ball down followed by Crook converting.

A high tackle on Jarrad Stack allowed Jamie Dallimore to level the match up with a penalty on 58 minutes, followed by the Raiders stand-off hitting the post with a kick from over 40 metres out eight minutes later.

Barrow had a try of their own ruled out too when Eze Harper's final pass to Harper was deemed forward, but a superb pass from Bullock set in motion an attack which led to Declan Hulme sending Toal over for his second try nine minutes from time which sealed a hard-fought win and promotion back to the Championship for the hosts after a three-year absence.

To quote another Lombardi-ism: “Winning isn't everything – it's the only thing.” After this game, Crarey and Forster would both attest to that.

Barrow Raiders: Ryan Fieldhouse; Brett Carter, Eze Harper, Declan Hulme, Shane Toal; Jamie Dallimore, Lewis Charnock; Joe Bullock, Karl Ashall, Ollie Wilkes, Jarrad Stack, Bradd Crellin, Martin Aspinwall. Interchange: Nathan Mossop, Dan Toal, James Duerden, Tom Walker.

Whitehaven: Elliott Miller; Craig Calvert, Jessie Joe Parker, Chris Taylor, Jordan Burns; Dion Aiye, Paul Crook; Marc Shackley, James Tilley, Carl Forster, Karl Olstrom, Scott McAvoy, Steve Roper. Interchange: James Newton, Connor Holliday, Tom Holland, Glenn Riley.

Referee: Scott Mikalauskas.

Attendance: 3,128.