Kendal 44 – Darlington 8

Kendal faced bottom of the table Darlington at Mint Bridge on Saturday and scored a very early try to get the score board ticking over.
Winger Chris Park ran the ball back at the heart of the Darlington defence with conviction breaking several tackles before he was eventually hauled down, the ball was quickly recycled and moved wide across the pitch to right wing John Ladell who showing his pace crossed the try line for a score converted by Dan Stephens.
Stephens added a penalty kick to the score line when Darlington were penalised for being offside in their backline four minutes later. A second penalty followed midway through the first half when the visitors were penalised for holding onto the ball in the tackle.
Kendal’s second try was scored on the half hour mark. Kendal had Darlington under immense pressure, forcing a handling error which was swooped on by centre Ian Voortman and he released Park on a run downfield, standoff Dan Stephens supported the run and took the pass to score an unconverted try in the corner.
Ten minutes later some superb handling down the right flank saw centre Renier Bester finish the move as he stretched over the try line to score Kendal’s third try which Stephens converted to give Kendal a 25 nil lead.
Some eight minutes of first half injury time was played and the half came to an end when Darlington were awarded a penalty and slotted home the three points.
Lock Liam Hayton was the beneficiary of Kendal’s fourth try in the third minute of the second half when he was driven over the line by the pack after a catch and drive from a penalty lineout.
Kendal frustrated by the spoiling tactics of Darlington and their own scrappy play did not score their fifth try until the sixty-seventh minute. The forwards supplied good quick ball from a scrum deep in the Darlington twenty-two, the ball was then spun across the field to John Ladell who cut back in field on a beautifully angled run which had the defence completely wrong-footed. Stephens converted both tries to stretch Kendal’s lead to 36 points.
An interception pass aided by some sloppy defending gave Darlington a very soft consolation try late in the game but Kendal had the final say when prop Billy Coxon sprinted in for popular score after good build up play by flanker Andrew Hudson and James Gough. The try went unconverted for a final score of 44 -8.
Kendal can now look forward to their 1st Round National Knockout Cup game against Rugby Lions at Mint Bridge next Saturday.