Carlisle Cruise Past Gallant Windermere

Our groundsman may have gone away on a well earned break, however he left a magnificent playing surface to greet the players and a good sized crowd on what turned out to be an exceedingly fine an sunny day in Carlisle, much against the experience of earlier in the week. The scoreline reflects what was ultimately a comfortable win for the home side, but it does not reflect the contribution that the visitors from the South Lakes made; they were a gallant side who never gave up and had some great passages of play themselves.

A late change for Carlisle saw Henry Longworth deputise for Tom Graham at hooker; the latter was stranded on returning home the previous day when his car broke down. We need not have worried as Longworth seamlessly fitted into a dominant front row. Carlisle were on the board after only three minutes. Scrum dominance was established on the visitors put-in and remained throughout the game. A clean break through middle was recycled before Jake Whittaker found space to put Lloyd Clark wide left; Jason Israel, who had an excellent day with the boot added the extras. A second score was quickly added from the restart as Windemere initially infringed at the breakdown and Carlisle moved the ball quickly through strong runs from Alfie Baty and Josh Holmes. Again the recycling was the key, creating space for full back Lewis Tingey to go over in the opposite corner again well converted by Israel.

That Carlisle did not score for another twenty minutes was largely down to the tenacity of Windermere, who had probably their best passage of the game. Combative in defence and imaginative in broken play they had periods of possession in the Carlisle half but could not create any clear opportunities. The home side continued look more dangerous in possession particularly when the ball was moved wide, but lack of accuracy meant the ball was spilled just when it looked as if the clean break was there to be taken. But Windermere too were making errors and allowed Carlisle to re-establish field position. Finally, a 5m scrum enabled the home pack to drive over for Clark’s second score, converted by Israel.

Clark completed his hattrick four minutes later and two further scores were added before half time as Carlisle began to hit their straps. Whittaker went in under the posts after great work from Tingey and John Short, whose sprint down the far touchline was impressive, and right on half time Tingey completing a sweeping move as the visitors wilted. Both converted by Israel for a 42-0 half time score.

The second half continued much in the same vein as the first. The home sides forward dominance was pretty much complete although Windermere continue to battle hard and defend stoutly. The visitors regular infringements meant Carlisle dominated possession. ‘Mere lost one player to a yellow card and it could have been more, but thankfully our referee Alan Jenkinson resisted the temptation to further disadvantage the visitors. Carlisle scored a further five tries in the second half. The first came from Nathan Greenhow, who again had solid game in the centre, a second for Whittaker, two from winger Rhys Callaghan, before Tingey completed a fine personal performance with a hattrick score near the end. Israel converted two of these to complete the Carlisle scoring.

But Windermere had the last word. Carlisle were perhaps guilty of falling off some tackles as in the final moments the visitors earned some possession in the Carlisle 22 and series of home side infringements saw them eventually squeeze over the line for a consolation score that enabled them to travel back down the M6 with something to show for their efforts.

So, Carlisle maintain their winning start to the season. A tricky trip to Egremont, who also won convincingly this weekend, awaits this coming Saturday. This young side will need to cut out their inaccuracies if they are maintain their early season record. They can however be pleased with progress thus far. Next week also brings the prospect of a Crusaders fixture at home to Ambleside, a welcome development given the struggles of recent seasons.