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Wigton Wanderers 5 Cockermouth 9
What a day for perfect rugby, the sun was shining, there was little wind and both teams had a full compliment of players, a great prospect. As the game started it became plainly obvious that the pitch, which had not recovered from the recent adverse weather conditions, was going to make it difficult for both teams to play an expansive, free flowing game.
Wigton started the much brighter team, making light of the heavy conditions and passing the ball into wide areas whenever possible. Cockermouth defended well with halfbacks Mike Shaw and Ross Maguire putting in some superb tackles. Against the run of play, Cockermouth took the lead through a Ross Maguire penalty, but Wigton bounced back to score a try 2 minutes later to take a half time lead of 5-3.
The second half was almost a carbon copy of the first with neither side being able to take total control of the game and assert any dominance. The Cockermouth front row generated a good platform to edge the scrums and give a good supply of ball to the backs, but deteriorating conditions continued to hamper progress. Cockermouth edged ahead through two further penalties, giving a narrow lead of 9-5.
Wigton looked capable of scoring a try and continued to move the ball wide at every opportunity. In the closing minutes, a clever chip by the Wigton fly half took the home side deep into the Cockermouth half, however, Andrew Skillen, at full back, fielded the ball and returned the favour through a superb clearance kick. Following his own kick proved vital as his super tackle on the ball receiver helped keep Wigton pinned in their own 22m for a decisive few minutes before the final whistle blew. Final score Wigton 5, Cockermouth 9.
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