Kirkby Lonsdale 5, Preston Grasshoppers 41: Big win for Hoppers

Kirkby Lonsdale kicked off and were pressing into the Preston half when Jacob Browne intercepted a pass and raced through the opposition line to score after just four minutes. The conversion from out on the wing failed but Hoppers were off to a good start.

The game then settled into a pattern of open play with prolonged fast passing phases from both sides moving the ball back and forth across the field as each team attacked their opposition 22.

Hoppers suffered a setback when Luke Procter had to retire with a painful shoulder injury and was replaced by Sam Gale but ten minutes later they had increased their lead when, after Kirkby Lonsdale were reduced to fourteen by a yellow card, Matt Lamprey peeled from the scrum to pass to Jordan Dorrington to score the first of his four tries, left of the posts. Again the conversion failed to hit the mark but Preston were now starting to dominate.

They were further aided by a red card shown to the Kirkby Lonsdale four for a tip tackle and when hooker Harry Holden battled his way through to score, the conversion by Jake Squirrell put Hoppers in the driving seat at half time, leading 0 – 17.

The second half continued the running, open play with both teams gaining and losing ground, the home side still pressing the solid defence of their visitors.

The Bonus Point try for Hoppers came just ten minutes into the half when Tyler Spence received the ball on the half way line and left all behind him as he swept down the field to score easily. The conversion by Squirrell moved the score to 0 – 24 and the home side looked to have a mountain to climb.

They did gain a glimmer of hope as Hoppers seemed to lose concentration for a while and play became scrappy and at times, ill tempered, allowing winger Ralston to score in the corner but the conversion attempt was woefully short in the still air leaving Kirkby Lonsdale with just five points for their efforts.

The try acted as a wake-up call and despite yellow cards being shown to both sides, Grasshoppers consolidated their command of the game with a trio of tries by Dorrington in the last ten minutes to run out the winners by 5 – 41.

Head Coach Paul Arnold was happy with the result: "It was a good five-point win. It wasn’t our sharpest performance, we got a bit sloppy in the second half and I think sometimes when you play teams at the lower end of the league it’s easy to have a high opinion of yourself, expecting to walk it.

"Kirkby Lonsdale were up for it and made it difficult for us but a few tries at the end made it a better score line. We know we have some tough games coming up but I am pleased by the performance of the players that have come into the side this season and I think we can be confident facing those fixtures."

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