Although Carlisle had some early possession in the first half, they were unable to convert that into points. The Warwick road side were unable to translate dominance at the scrum into any reward on the scoreboard. It was Workington who threw everything at Carlisle in the middle twenty minutes and were denied from opening the scoring only through some resolute defence by the home side. It took Carlisle half an hour before they managed to overcome Workington, as they used their superior forward power in a catch and drive from a line out, to drive over second row Rory Parish, converted from the touchline by Jason Israel. As Carlisle used their scrum dominance to full effect to drive Workington backwards, a penalty infringement allowed Jason Israel the chance to put another 3 points on the board, and leave the first half to close at 10-0.

Carlisle started with a little more purpose in the second half. A couple of good breaks from Josh Holmes and Henry Wainwright gave Carlisle territorial advantage and with Workington struggling to cover, the ball was fed to Guy Graham who brushed aside the Workington fullback to score under the posts. Tries started to come thick and fast and from the restart, Carlisle ran the ball back at Workington, Josh Holmes putting Henry Wainwright through as he evaded the clutches of the Workington defence to score in the left corner. Workington though were not rolling over and from a break down the left, the Workington flyhalf put a kick over into the right corner for their winger to collect and score what would be the visitors only try. Almost immediately Carlisle responded and from the back of a maul in Workington’s 22, fly half James Telford rounded the Workington defence to score under the posts for the bonus point try. Workington were desperate to salvage something from this game and put another fine spell of sustained pressure on Carlisle, pinning them in their 22. However, Carlisle were able to keep their defence solid, and from a turnover ball, a break by Guy Graham down the left, caught Workington’s defence too thinly spread, and he was able to put winger Neil McGill in space to race in for the final try of the game.

Head Coach David Stout remarked after the game " A much improved second half with a more direct approach making up for a frustrating first 30 minutes. The resulting tries built confidence and better decision making.
When they listen this group of players have so much more in them which bodes well - as does being top of the league. Much to look forward to in the key clash with neighbours Aspatria next weekend."

Captain Tom Graham added "A game where we had to break down the opposition: which caused us issues and frustration early on. A satisfying win eventually, the most satisfying was the lads who were called up and did an outstanding job creating competition in the ranks"
With results elsewhere ensuring that Carlisle now top the league, this will add extra spice to a table top clash with Aspatria at Bower Park next Saturday.