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Carlisle Colts 25 v Westoe RFC 12

The long winter lay off has surely come to an end for the Colts who were playing what would have been their fourth fixture today in as many weeks; with Penrith having to concede the semi final of the County Cup last week, and the Colts coming into this game having won their previous two matches things could not be going better for the team.

The match started with good pressure from Westoe, which the Carlisle defence met, both sets of forwards set the pattern for much of the game and the expectations in physicality were met

It would take until half way in the first half for the scoreboard to be breached. Kieron Little playing on the wing broke through with a fantastic run the ball was sent back inside and a cross-field kick (which went slightly awry), was picked up by the Carlisle hooker Tom McCullough who still having plenty to do crossed the line. The try was converted by Steve Benson.

Following this Carlisle went into a period of the game which they dominated….

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Alnwick Colts 33, Carlisle Colts 7

Saturday 30 October 2009
Alnwick Colts 33, Carlisle Colts 7

This was to be Carlisle’s third visit to the North East, which is already proving to be a difficult hunting ground for the team during this early part of the season. Unfortunately for the Colts, today was not to be theirs as they came up against a powerful well-drilled Alnwick fifteen. Certainly the first twenty minutes saw Alnwick dominate the game which was reflected in the score, Carlisle play was being broken down with little territorial gain during this period: four minutes into the game and Alnwick were set to put the first points on the board, and though it looked like Carlisle had survived this with the ball dropping short of the posts an untypical defensive error let Alnwick regain the ball and cross the line, it was not long after when Alnwick ran in a second converted try, again from a Carlisle error.

Following this period Carlisle did start to put some play together, and spent much of the remainder of the first half applying some pressure and testing the Alnwick defence, against the run of play Alnwick put another score on the board making it 19 – 0. Carlisle did reply quickly with an impressive piece of play from the centre of the park. A number 8 pick up was well supported by the scrum half and the inside centre Matthew Minnett who this time broke the Alnwick tackles a pass to Carl Robertson who used good strength to cross the line. At this point the last thing Carlisle needed was the half-time whistle. A little more time with the momentum may have seen another Carlisle score?

The start of the second half Alnwick came out well and another try was scored; if it had not slipped from Carlisle hands it was starting too, another five minutes and the final score was on the board following a defensive error on the blind side. Carlisle did have a good deal of the ball but could not cross the line as the remainder of the match was played out. It is difficult to say where Carlisle went wrong, both the scrum and the line out were working well, open play at times was naïve both in support and defence and Alnwick took full advantage of this deserving the win; there were other factors that had a negative effect on the game for both teams but all in all the final result was a fair reflection of the match played.

Many thanks to the Alnwick team and staff for their hospitality and comments after the game, the Colt’s play again next week at home against Morpeth, Saturday 7th November.

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Carlisle Colts 17 v Northern 3

Another weekend and the Colts are at home entertaining Northern. The opposition have changed but the weather and pitch conditions remain wet, however Carlisle spirits are not dampened and for the first 15 minutes Northern are put under strong pressure from the Carlisle forwards, who eventually find the try line through Lewis Cawley playing scrum half for a second successive weekend. S. Benson converted and the Colts are 7 – 0 ahead. Northern reply with a well kicked penalty, which is immediately followed by another well struck penalty, this time Steve Benson pushing Carlisle further up the scoreboard; the score remains the same until half time 10 – 3.

Perhaps conditions but the second half was quieter from both sides, Carlisle did start quickly; Tom Dixon catching the kick and running the ball straight back at Northern, one of the best passages of attack play followed this and Carlisle should have crossed the line; the hands were excellent and quick defying the conditions, but like many of the following plays there was a missed pass, dropped ball or just a poor decision. The second half also saw Carlisle penalised for indiscipline at the rucks although Northern did not take advantage of this and the score remained the same. Carlisle made changes during the half time with Kieron Little moving into the centre and James Rocke coming on at fly half: at times this did get Carlisle moving forward with more purpose eventually resulting in a try for Kieron Little, and another conversion by Steve Benson, this bringing about the final score of 17 v 3.

Carlisle did deserve the win, but they are missing some opportunities on the pitch, which if they are to finish high in the league this season they need to take and convert into points. That said conditions were poor on the day for both teams and no doubt impacted on the score. Thanks to Northern for travelling over and to Bill and the bar staff who made all welcome in the club following the game.

The Colts next game is next Saturday 21 November when the under 17’s entertain Wigton.

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Carlisle Colts 15, Morpeth Colts 3

Saturday 07 November 2009

Todays match found Carlisle Colts at home for the second time, and needing a positive result to rekindle their season.  
Pitch conditions having deteriorated due to the recent heavy rains would be a contributing factor to the final score, and with the weather continuing to be poorfor a great deal of the game . . . it was going to be messy.

Carlisle kicked off the first half immediately with a score, a great chase following the kick and the ball was in Carlisle possession, the attack was reset with the ball eventually finding Carl Robertson who crossed the line: continuing Carlisle pressure and then a strong break from fly half Matthew Minnett who found centre Aidan Hermaston and Carlisle were on the scoreboard again taking the score to 10 – 0 within the first five minutes. However, the next twenty minutes found Carlisle being constantly penalised for poor discipline in both the ruck and scrum areas, Morpeth maybe due to the conditions did not take full advantage of the awarded penalties managing to score only once; Carlisle would continue to be penalised throughout the game. With the score now at 10 – 3 and five minutes remaining of the first half Carlisle crossed the line again with good support play being the key, Ryan Howe put a further 5 points on the scoreboard in what was to be both the half and full time score.

The second half continued in much the same way as the bulk of the first half: Carlisle were to see three players binned, with two of those off the pitch for the final eight minutes, it is difficult to say why the tally of offences was so high against Carlisle, which will need to be corrected for future games; this said both teams showed excellent handling skills throughout the game which was not expected in these ’soapy’ conditions. Ellis Little at full back made a try saving tackle  to prevent Morpeth from crossing the line.

A mention needs to go to the five under sixteens who played in the Carlisle side, all five made an impact on the game and will no doubt feature in further games. Many thanks to the Morpeth team and staff for making the journey over,  and to Bill and the bar staff who made all welcome in the club following the game.

The Colts are at home again against Northern, Saturday 14th November.

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Alnwick Colts 33, Carlisle Colts 7

Saturday 30 October 2009
Alnwick Colts 33, Carlisle Colts 7

This was to be Carlisle’s third visit to the North East, which is already proving to be a difficult hunting ground for the team during this early part of the season. Unfortunately for the Colts, today was not to be theirs as they came up against a powerful well-drilled Alnwick fifteen. Certainly the first twenty minutes saw Alnwick dominate the game which was reflected in the score, Carlisle play was being broken down with little territorial gain during this period: four minutes into the game and Alnwick were set to put the first points on the board, and though it looked like Carlisle had survived this with the ball dropping short of the posts an untypical defensive error let Alnwick regain the ball and cross the line, it was not long after when Alnwick ran in a second converted try, again from a Carlisle error.

Following this period Carlisle did start to put some play together, and spent much of the remainder of the first half applying some pressure and testing the Alnwick defence, against the run of play Alnwick put another score on the board making it 19 – 0. Carlisle did reply quickly with an impressive piece of play from the centre of the park. A number 8 pick up was well supported by the scrum half and the inside centre Matthew Minnett who this time broke the Alnwick tackles a pass to Carl Robertson who used good strength to cross the line. At this point the last thing Carlisle needed was the half-time whistle. A little more time with the momentum may have seen another Carlisle score?

The start of the second half Alnwick came out well and another try was scored; if it had not slipped from Carlisle hands it was starting too, another five minutes and the final score was on the board following a defensive error on the blind side. Carlisle did have a good deal of the ball but could not cross the line as the remainder of the match was played out. It is difficult to say where Carlisle went wrong, both the scrum and the line out were working well, open play at times was naïve both in support and defence and Alnwick took full advantage of this deserving the win; there were other factors that had a negative effect on the game for both teams but all in all the final result was a fair reflection of the match played.

Many thanks to the Alnwick team and staff for their hospitality and comments after the game, the Colt’s play again next week at home against Morpeth, Saturday 7th November.

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Colts v Consett

Saturday 10 October 2009
Consett Colts 10, Carlisle Colts 7

A difficult, frustrating game for Carlisle Colts, who went down in the first five minutes to a Consett try, which was followed a further ten minutes later with Consett crossing the line again; both conversions in good positions were missed by the Consett kicker. In between the two tries Carlisle lost their captain Ross Allen to an ankle injury, (he did try to come back on late in the second half, but only to be changed again). During the first twenty minutes Carlise found it difficult to compete with Consett particularly in the line out, which Consett dominated for much of the game, the scrum too, was a contest  with the Consett pack being very physical however, Carlisle did fair better with the scrum. Approaching half time Carlisle began to get good possession and found themselves with a five metre scrum, with the momentum and this close to the Consett line the ball had to go across, Ryan Howe who had moved into the number eight position picked up at the back of the scrum and scored an excellent try, Steve Benson kicked the points. At this point it looked like game on.

Consett came out in the second half still playing the crash ball still making things difficult in the set plays, but Carlisle should have taken the advantage at this point, they were pushing Consett, but to no avail, maybe the wrong decisions were being taken, definitely the bench was light so there was little could be done to change players or the shape of the team, Carlisle pressed getting close on a number of occassions but were stopped, Consett missed two penalty kicks too, so no doubt they feel they should have had more points on the board.

From a Carlisle perspective we struggled at the rucks and the already mentioned line out, but the defence was again good, many of the players were out of position due to missing players; the return match will be a different affair in March. The two players from the U16s performed excellent, Adam Robinson and Alex Clarke both taking the game to Consett.

Many thanks to the Consett team and staff for their hospitality and comments after the game, the Colt’s play again on 31 October away to Alnwick.
Report sent in by S. Harkins

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Carlisle Colts 24 v Wigton 17

Saturday 03 October 2009
Wigton Colts 17, Carlisle Colts 24

Carlisle and Wigton have contested the last two County U18 cup finals, Carlisle winning two years ago but Wigton got the cup last season winning 20-12.

From the outset this match was about the conditions that prevailed throughout the game leading to two very distinct halves for both teams. There can be no surprise at the halftime result, Wigton with the wind behind had Carlisle pinned down in their twenty two for much of the time and the three occasions Carlisle found themselves deep in the Wigton twenty two resulted in turn over ball and a swift kick deep back into Carlisle territory. Wigton scored within the first five minutes close to the posts but failed to convert, another score around the twenty – minute mark was converted. During this period a number of penalties were conceded by both teams, eventually this resulted in a Wigton player being sent off for persistently killing the ball.

Having soaked up the pressure and now with the wind behind them the second half began with Carlisle almost conceding another score, this was quickly turned around with the ball getting out wide to Kyle Fisher who ran most of the pitch to put Carlisle on the score board, he then went on to convert his try. Carlisle forwards were to cross the line three more times: firstly Callum Hermeston followed by Tom Dixon and then Ryan Howe. With 15 minutes left to play Carlisle lost full back Ellis Little who was binned for laying on the ball, this gave Wigton a penalty 5 metres out, Carlisle defended well against this but Wigton would cross the line adding another five points to their tally.

It was the difficult conditions that styled the game, with both sides making handling errors at times; Carlisle defended strongly all match but it was up to the forwards to take the game to Wigton and the Carlisle pack all had a notable game. The first half in particular showed the heart of the Carlisle team was beating strongly, both sides worked hard with Carlisle ending on top.

Many thanks to the Wigton team and staff for their hospitality and comments after the game, next week the Colts travel to Consett.

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Carlisle Colts 31v Percy Park Ac 5

A comprehensive and deserving win over a side often in the hunt for honours at seasons end. They key to this victory was Carlisle’s dominance at the breakdown and Carlisle’s ability to turn over the visitors seemingly at will. The scoreline perhaps did not reflect Park’s  efforts throughout the game, but neither did it flatter Carlisle.

It was Park who had the early pressure, profiting from a Carlisle error receiving the kick off. park should have scored after creating space wide right, but Carlisle full back Ellis Little made a try saving tackle, a feat he was to repeat twice further during the game. Indeed throughout the match home defence was outstanding, and they were a constant danger breaking out from tunover ball. Ross Allen scored the first try on eight minutes from Carlisle’s first incursion into the Park 22, the forwards retaining possesion well before the ball was moved right for the centr to crash through. Three mintes later it was is centre partner Steven Benson who scored the second, profiting from a breakout involving Ritchie, Little, and Billett as Park were turned over again; John Walker added the conversion. A period of Park pressure was repelled with impressive defensive organisation before a third try was scored on 24 minutes by Adam Robertson, again following an impressive attack after turnover ball won. Carlisle could have added a fourth try before half time, but Kyle Fisher just edged the touchline evazding a defender.

With lineouts and scrums even the visitors were always in the game. But the second half followed the pattern of the first with Carlisle dominating the breakdown area and retaining control of the match. Carl Robertson added a fouth try on 37 minutes; a trademark catch and drive superbly contolled from just inside the Park 22; Kyle Fisher adding a super conversion from wide right. Park dominated possession in the final 15 minutes as Carlisle began to tire, but determined defence prevented a score. In contrast the hosts were clinical when the opportunity arose and wing Ian Billet capped an impressive all round display with a try on 65 minutes converted by Walker. Percy Park never gave up and were rewarded with a consolation score from Arron Cottingham in the final minute.

Many thanks to Park for their generous comments after the game; there efforts were not reflected in the result. Next week the Colts travel to Wigton for what will be a tough match against the team that beat us in last seasons County Cup final.

Saturday 26 September 2009

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Carlisle Colts 10 v Billingham 20

In the first league game of the new season Carlisle came up against a strong an well organised Billingham side and were unlucky not to come away with win. This was a tight game all round with the result in doubt right to the end. Tries from Carl Robertson and Matthew Cullen kept Carlisle in the game and we trailed on 13-10 going into the final minutes. Despite intense pressure we could not get the required score and Billingham broke out to seal the the win.

Saturday 12 September 2009.

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Carlisle Colts 13 v Austin Friars 27

There are now excellent links between Austin Friars and the Club, and were delighted to to be offered the chance to open Friars newly relaid 1st XV pitch which was in excellent condition despite heavy rain the preceding couple of days. The Colts contained a few former Friars pupils, which no doubt added spice to what is always a keenly contested game.

With both teams using the as a warm up game the match was split into three 25 minute periods. The first period was largely dominated by Friars, whose backs were a constant danger. Friars included current Ireland U18 stand off Grant Connon in their line-up and he was influential throughout; finding a gap on seven minutes and jinking in for the first try which he also converted. Carlisle had the more impressive forwards, but lacked a cutting edge behind. Stevene Benson and Connon traded penalties to complete the first periods scoring.

The second period saw the Carlisle forwards get on top, but not before that man Connon extended Friars lead with his second try and conversion. The Colts by then had learnt to keep the ball away from their hosts back division and good ball retention and driving saw them control the second period, being rewarded with two tries of their own through Kyle Fisher and Adam Robertson, the latter an U16 in his Colts debut.

At 17-13 going into the third period the result was in the balance. But in the third period the Carlisle pack were unable to maintain their dominance and the Friars pack won enough possession to release the pressure and allow their backs to break out. Connon extended the Friars lead with a penalty and their victory was confirmed with a Matthew Minnett try 5 minutes from time.

Altogether an encouraging workout for both teams as the prepare for the new season. When they combine post Christmas as one side for Carlisle Colts they could be a real force to be reckoned with.

Saturday 5 September

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