Print This Post

NORTH 1 EAST FIXTURE CHANGES

DATES FOR THE DIARY   Consequent on the postponement of the match at Old Brodleians due to the weather on 19th December, the league authorities have now directed that the game will be rescheduled to SATURDAY, 27TH FEBRUARY 2010.

That means we now have two trips in three weeks to Halifax in the new year.  On 6th February, we go to Old Crossleyans to replay the game with Old Crosleyans  -  a match that was declared void because of alleged breaches of the front row regulations when the orginal fixture took place on 14th November.

 Print This Post

Weather Claims League Match

The North 1 East League match at Old Brodleians on 19th December has been postponed due to the weather.

New date for the fixture will be advised in due course.

Meanwhile, a date for your diary, Saturday 9th January away at Darlington, is the next match.

 Print This Post

RFU flood appeal

The RFU President, John Owen, launched an appeal asking all clubs to support the victims of the recent floods in West Cumbria.

Clubs took a collection at their games on 28th November, 2009, with the proceeds going to the Cumbria Floods Disaster that is being administered by the Cumbria Community Foundation.

As there were no games at Carlisle on the relevant date we sent off a cheque for £200 and at Percy Park, where we did play our game, the collection rasied £198 and a few pence.

Well done and thanks to all concerned.

Please read (below) the appeal by the President, and if you are able, send your contribution direct to the address given.

RFU flood appeal document

 Print This Post

New Year Family Party

Carlisle RFC are hosting a Hogmanay / New year party with live entertainment and disco.
Tickets are only £1.00 and an American Style buffet means that you must bring some food to share

 Print This Post

Under 9s and 10s v Wigton

Two mixed 9s and 10s Carlisle teams formed a three way match with a combined team of Wigton U9s and 10s.

The first match was Carlisle Blue team v Wigton where following initial resolute defence from Wigton, Carlisle opened up an unbeatable lead with tries from Will Riddell and Jake Whittaker (3) before Wigton managed to get a consolation try. Christian Tait finished the match off with the final try for Carlisle Blues. Final Score 5-1.

In the second match, Carlisle Blues took on Carlisle Reds with no room for friendship as the tackles flew in.

A late try by Ruairidh Barker meant that the Reds won 3-2. Ruairidh had earlier scored 2 tries for the Reds with Jake Whittaker and Christian Tait scoring for the Blues.

In the final match, Carlisle Reds defeated Wigton 3-2. Try scorers for the Reds were Ceri and Alex Hodgkinson (2). Carlisle had taken the lead but a spirited fight back by Wigton left Carlisle Reds clinging on.

View full match report

 Print This Post

First XV latest images

 Print This Post

Under 16’s v Mowden Park

The weather Gods were kind to us……..the predicted hard frost failed to materialise, and we were able to welcome Darlington Mowden Park to Warwick Road.

As with all games against North East opposition, we expected a tough competitive game, and were not disappointed.
Injuries and holidays had reduced Carlisle to a “bare bones” of 16 players, but the home team were quick out of the blocks.
After two minutes, a good take of a high ball by Ben Fisher, released Tom McMann who made great ground before passing to Jordie Clement to score in the corner.

There followed a spell of end-to-end rugby with neither team dominating before Alex Clark broke down the left, delivering a great reverse pass to Jamie Harrison who made further yardage, allowing Ben Fisher to follow up and score. Again the try was unconverted.

After twenty minutes, Mowden’s efforts were rewarded by a try which followed some great driving and recycling by the forwards.

Another midfield battle between the 22s ensued, only interrupted when Carlisle had a try chalked off for a forward pass.
Carlisle continued to absorb determined pressure from the visitors, but this was relieved by Adam Robertson’s boot, quickly chased up the left by Alex Clark. A quick penalty followed which led to Alex Peart (making the most of a rare start at his preferred scrum half position) diving over for a try in the corner.

Mowden are made of tough stuff however, and the try of the match saw a run from fully 80 yards leave numerous tacklers in his wake……to score under the posts for an easy conversion.

Half time………..Carlisle 15 – 12 Mowden Park

The second half resumed at a hectic pace, with Carlisle camping in Mowden territory.
The conditions were not, however, conducive to flowing rugby.

A few minutes in, a Mowden breakaway against the run of play looked like a certain try, until Adam Robertson made a great tackle into touch with a handful of yards to spare.

Tom “Rocky” Fisher was then sin-binned for apparently defending himself too enthusiastically under the nose of the referee.

This led to a positional reshuffle, with Adam Robertson switching to his “ County” position of hooker.
Carlisle continued pressure was then rewarded when great handling in the line allowed Jordie Clement another chance to use his pace and score his second try of the match. Tom McMann converted to increase the lead.

Both teams continued to battle hard, but when “Rocky” Fisher was allowed back on, a fifteen strong Carlisle never looked like conceding again.

However, the second half dragged on for an eternity, with witty comments flowing on the touchline about the need for floodlights and such like.
When the final whistle was eventually blown, both teams were exhausted after a tough game.

Final score……….Carlisle 22 – 12 Mowden Park

Man of the match…………Adam Robertson

View full report document

 Print This Post

Under 15’s 31 v Morpeth 17

After a below par performance the previous week, the Under 15’s were looking to redeem themselves against a useful Morpeth side.

However with only a few minutes on the clock Morpeth got themselves on the board after some tame tackling by the home team let the visitors in on the right touchline. Carlisle however managed to wake themselves up and after some good interlinking forward and back play they were unlucky to be denied in the left corner.

The resulting 22 drop out from Morpeth was picked up and worked right. With Morpeth infringing at two succesive rucks the home side took advantage of the penalties to tap and go and and sheer weight of numbers forced an equalising try under the posts by Dean Kirsopp, which Andy Glendinning converted.

Carlisle were then to quickly take the lead from the re-start. Some good forward play by Chris Marsh and Alex Murray down the right touchline, allowed some quick ruck ball by scrum half Andy Barker to release the backs across the left, with outside centre Andy Glendinning breaking through the stretched Morpeth defence to touch down under the posts.

The game then heated up quite considerably with a stramash on the left touchline at a line out, which resulted in Alex Murray being sin-binned,and a mystery man in black fortunate not to follow him. With tensions high and the visitors refereeing the game from the touchline, Morpeth pressed their numbers advantage and although Carlisle scrambled a defence to prevent a try on the left, the resulting 5m scrum was turned into a try under the posts for the visitors just before half time.

With some fresh legs on in the second half Carlisle were determined not to let the numbers disadvantage ruin their game and pressed forward to keep Morpeth in their own half. Wilson Noctor was unlucky not to score the third try when after a darting run and kick through the defence he was narrowly beaten in a foot race to the try line. However the third try was not long in coming and after a kick through by Scott Hogarth was knocked on by the Morpeth back, from the resulting scrum the ball was fumbled on the try line by Morpeth and fly half Ben Shadwick quickly dived on it to move Carlisle further ahead.

The fourth try came from the resulting restart with Chris Marsh catching and driving forward, with a deft lay off to Jack Mitchell who took two defenders with him and set up Scott Hogarth to race down the right touchline and score under the posts, which Josh Barton converted. Carlisle were now dominating posession and forcing Morpeth on to the back foot. A kick to touch by Morpeth set up Carlisle’s last try of the match. With Carlisle winning the line out, scrum half Ollie Armstrong dummied the encroaching Morpeth defence and darted through the line out to race through for an great individual try.

With the game over the home side lost concentration and allowed Morpeth back into the game to score their second try in the corner, with almost the last play of the game. This was a good passionate team effort with 100% commitment from all the players to beat a determined Morpeth side 31 – 17.

View Full report

 Print This Post

Carlisle 6 v Billingham 35

North 1 East League
Saturday, 12th December 2009

It might have been a pleasant and crisp afternoon at Warwick Road, but the quality of the rugby served up by Carlisle was pretty dull and unimaginative.  Carlisle never really looked like giving themselves an early present of vitally needed league points against the leagues’s leading scorers.

The home side opened relatively brightly and fly half Glen Weightman landed a penalty for an offside offence in the opening minute of the game.

In the set pieces, the Carlisle pack were able to dominate and get an ample supply of the ball, but as has too often been the case in recent weeks, the lack of a sharp cutting edge on the final approach let them down time and again.

Billingham gradually worked their way into the game and opened their account with a penalty on thirteen minutes, quickly followed by a converted try a couple of minutes later.  Another penalty took it to thirteen points to six at the break after Weightman got his second kick.

Just before the break the city side were down to fourteen men when pivot Mark Barron, earned himself a place in the sin bin.

Within quarter of an hour of the restart, Billingham stunned their hosts with three tries, one of them converted.

Carlisle had one or two attacking spells but the visitors managed to keep their line intact.

Billingham sealed the game on seventy five minutes with their final try.

As a conseuqence of this performance, and wins by teams below them, Carlisle now find themselvers in the third relegation place in the league.  The league is still a tight one, and there is ample time to redeem the situation, but the lads really are going to have to put their game together.

Pick of the pack:

Best of the backs:

The starting XV:

15    Max Connon
14    Barry Earlk
13    Chris Harris
12    Ross Olney (Lee Askew)
11    Lee Askew (Jack Oddie)
10    Glen Weightman
9      Ben Blain
1      Steve Stamper C
2      Tom Graham (John Bowman)
3      Mart McGimpsey
4      Martin Grealish
5      Dan Smithson
6      Adam Morrison (Stuart Graham)
7      Bobby Sherlock
8      Mark Barron
16    John Bowman
17    Stuart Graham
18    Jack Oddie

MORE PICS FROM THE MATCH:

 Print This Post

Under 14’s v Morpeth

The Carlisle Cobras welcomed back several of the squad missing from last Sundays home defeat to Keswick for an early start for their trip over to Morpeth.

The Cobras got off to a flying  start with a try from Thomas Fuller in the  3rd  minute of the game with a typical mazey run which Morpeth had no answer to. The conversion was missed by Jason Israel when he hit the ground on his kick.

Play continued in a very mixed fashion, with both teams displaying strong attacking and defensive strategies until,  Morpeth broke back to level the scores some 3 minutes later with  a well taken unconverted try by Joe Shaw.

Half way through the first half, a 5 metre scrum resulted in Mark Forster scoring Carlisle’s second try match in the 15 minute, which was  converted by Brett Connon to give the Cobras a 12 – 5 lead.

Play became very scrappy for a while with Morpeth asking questions of the Carlisle defence with repeated high balls over the top forcing uncharacterisic errors at the back.  Morpeth pushed their way through Carlisle’s defence for Joe Shaw to score  his second try of the game on 17 minutes. Not converted.

Carlisle’s determination to gain possession of the ball, and good handling,  resulted in Guy Wilkinson making one of his surging runs down the right flank to take the ball over the Morpeth try line in the final minutes of the first half.  Brett Connon converted to take the Cobras into a 19 – 12 lead at the break.

The second half saw Carlisle begin strongly with a 60 metre run by Thomas Fuller but he was unfortunately brought down just short of the try line.  Both teams showed grit and determination in some probing periods of play without much penetration for either side. The Cobras did finally gain some meaningful possession in Morpeth territory, but an unfortunate accident between Carlisle’s Matt Hawley and  Morpeth’s Kieran Brown, resulted in play being stopped for approximately 15 minutes while both players received treatment from an ambulance crew.  Neither played any further part in the game with Kieran sustaining the more severe of the injuries.

Carlisle fought on to overcome a very strong Morpeth defence, which was eventually breached resulting in Daniel Smales scoring Carlisle’s third try taking the Cobras into a 24 – 12 lead.

Strong pressure from the Carlisle pack in the final minutes of the game saw the ball end up in the hands of  Thomas Fuller to make a charge for the line, crossing for his second try of the match. The converted by Brett Connon  finished off a very determined display against stiff opposition who were no pushover.

Full match report

Next Page »