Sat 5 Oct 2019
A bizarre game which saw the best and worst of Upper Eden ended in a high scoring victory against Workington, but not before the home supporters had been given a nasty scare.
UPPER EDEN 37, WORKINGTON 24
A crafty bit of thinking brought the first score after the visitors’ kick had been touched down in goal. Dan Todd’s 22 dropout took the form of a short grubber kick, gathered by right wing Dan Birkbeck, who sprinted 80 yards down the touchline for a try. Ollie Bennett missed the conversion.
Eden were already dictating terms and a spell of pressure saw the ball moved out from a scrum in front of the posts for Birkbeck to cross for his second try.
Another soon followed as fly half Alex Darroch broke from midfield before setting up full back Sam Edgar who ran well to the corner for try number three. Bennett put over the difficult conversion which turned out to be his only success of the day in this department.
At last Workington put in an attack, showing strength in their forwards as they made ground towards the home goal line. A lineout drive was held up and Eden’s pack did well to disrupt three five-metre scrums before winning a scrum of their own inside their 22. Quick ball then released the backs and Edgar made ground before offloading to Bennett who ran in for a superbly worked try.
The speed and precision of Upper Eden’s back division were cutting the opposition to shreds at this stage and play again moved into the visitors’ 22. A couple of drives for the line were held up just short before centre Ali Civil crossed for his side’s fifth try and a 27-0 lead inside 30 minutes.
After such an electrifying start the game changed, due in part to the hosts becoming over-confident and losing focus while their opponents reorganised themselves. After the restart kick was dropped the Workington forwards drove from the scrum and forced their way over for their first try.
Eden were suddenly a shadow of their former selves and it was sheer carelessness and inability to control a bouncing ball which cost them a converted try just before half-time.
Play was scrappy and disjointed after the break, with the hosts unable to find any cohesion. They repelled a Workington attack, but were soon under pressure again after losing their own lineout. The drive from a 5m scrum was held, but when the ball came out the visiting forwards forced their way over for a converted try.
Eden were in some disarray and a penalty given away at the breakdown brought the visitors an attacking lineout from which the forwards drove over to reduce the deficit to 27-24.
An unlikely upset seemed on the cards at this point, but strong words from their coach pulled Eden round. A sweeping move took play to the top corner where Edgar and Will Birkbeck were held just short before the ball was moved swiftly across the park for winger Kyle Glasson to squeeze his way over in the corner.
Eden’s rapid response to a potential crisis had given them an eight-point cushion and seemed to stop the rot, but a chaotic passage of play was to follow.
Both sides threatened and were repelled in turn as play, albeit with frequent interruptions, went from end to end, and the final sequence was of some interest.
The home side had an attacking lineout and the catcher, Rob Dent, took the ball cleanly, but when the lifters dropped him they were penalised for dangerous play. From the penalty, Workington stormed back to the other end and a try looked likely until they lost control of the ball, which was gathered near his own goal-line by Dan Birkbeck. The Eden winger then set off on a storming run which outpaced the defence and took him all the way to the other end for a final try.
This was a game of contrasts for both sides. Upper Eden’s superb attacking rugby in the early part of the game would have beaten any side in their division, but their later lapse then allowed their opponents to hit back to a worrying extent. However, a five-point win achieved what they had set out to do in the first place.
Eden man of the match was Dan Birkbeck for his hat-trick of tries.
