Centre Chris Burns scored a hat-trick as Hawcoat Park ran out comfortable 35-0 winners over St Benedicts in the Cumbria Shield last Saturday.

The horrendous wet and windy conditions meant this was likely to be a game that wasn’t going to stick in the memory bank for long and the Maroon and Whites had to grind out the result against their patched-up visitors.

However, it was Bennies who began the game the stronger, spending almost the entirety of its early stages in the home side’s 22.

It took ten minutes for Park to visit their opponents’ half, but they came away from it with their first try of the afternoon, following a superb 50-metre break from Callum Ramsey.

Captain George Smith kept pace with the flanker and after taking the pass, moved the ball out to ever-improving winger Jack Lord to finish well out wide, with Smith converting superbly.

St Benedicts continued to play with a real spirit, making it very difficult for Park to produce any sustained pressure, as did the hosts getting on the wrong side of the referee’s penalty count.

But they extended their lead just before half-time when good hands by Jack Shannon and Scott Kaighan sent Burns into space and he ran back inside from 25 metres to score near the posts.

Turning around 14-0 ahead, it took until the final 15 minutes for the Maroon and Whites to really cut loose, as Burns grabbed his second after good work from Benji Platt and Lewis Sayle.

The bonus point was then wrapped up when No.8 Grady Slater grounded the ball off the back of a five-metre scrum.

Park then saved their best until last when Kaighan sent Ash Mowat sprinting into space before he passed to allow Burns to complete his treble.