The Road to Wembley - Part 2

Challenge Cup Round 2

Kells 42 Underbank Rangers 6 - Saturday, 13th February 2016

After Underbank's surprising (but thoroughly deserved) victory over treble winners Leigh Miners Rangers in Round 1 the draw for the Second Round handed them another tough away trip to Kells.

My initial thought was who the hell are Kells?? Actually, I had heard of them but the only thing I knew about them was they are a club playing somewhere near Whitehaven.  So I took to the internet and found out who they were.

To my surprise they have enjoyed what can only be described as a meteoric rise up the National Conference League divisions, winning Divisions 3, 2 and 1 in quick succession and now find themselves about to embark on their first campaign in the Premier Division.  Not only that but they have been tipped by some in the know as favourites to win this division as well.

So after some further digging around to find out where and when the game will be played I convinced the better half to join me and we drove up to the west coast of Cumbria on a cold, but sunny, Saturday morning.

Prior to setting off I had to check where their ground was on Google Maps.  I managed to find the clubhouse ... but no sign of the pitch!  In the end I messaged the club’s Twitter feed hoping that some kind soul would reply back, and lo and behold, I received a reply from Russ to say their Old Arrowthwaite pitch was at the top end of the village – separate from the clubhouse and dressing rooms.

We arrived in plenty of time and decided to try out the local cuisine (a pint in the bar).  We were a bit confused as to how to get into it and the first door we checked saw us almost end up in the players dressing rooms (I hadn’t brought my boots with me so decided I should probably leave).

We found a free table in the packed bar area where many of the fans were looking forward to the game.  Kells had whitewashed Nottingham Outlaws 30-0 in the previous round and were favourites again for this encounter.  Just as I was finishing my pint, Russ spotted me and came over to introduce himself and handed me a complimentary team sheet.

As I wasn’t entirely sure where the pitch was, we finished our drinks and followed some locals two minutes down the hill to the pitch – a pitch that was situated on the edge of the West Cumbrian coast and looked to be very open to the elements.

After paying one of the two 'turnstile operators' our £2 entry fees (there were no turnstiles so that’s the best way my wife could describe them as they tried, often unsuccessfully, to stop people passing them without paying) we arrived at a rather surreal situation.  One side of the pitch seemed to so close to the cliff edge there may be a worry it might erode into the sea at some point in the future, and the other side backed into the rear of some semi-detached and terraced houses where homeowners could come out of their back gate, walk a couple of paces, and be at the pitch side.

Thankfully the wind and rain stayed away and the game was as thrilling an encounter as I’d hoped it would be.  Kells took an early lead, only to be pegged back by Underbank, but it was Kells who struck again before half time to take a 12-6 lead into the break.

During the first half I noticed a distinct lack of ball-boys.  It did cross my mind weather there had been some local tragedy at past games where one of the younger volunteers had been ‘lost at sea’ trying to reclaim a match ball that had strayed off course in the high coastal winds and therefore others were no longer willing to offer their services.

Into the second half and Kells asserted their dominance.  Unfortunately for Underbank there would be no repeat of their heroics from two weeks previous as the home side turned up the heat and added five more converted tries with the help of their bigger, more powerful forwards.

It threatened to turn ugly late on as for the second game running Underbank were handed a man advantage when Kells’ Stand Off was sent off, but by then the game was already won.  As would be the norm a player who is sent off usually goes in for an early bath but as the dressing room was almost half a mile from the pitch the only thing he could do was stand talking to his family and friends “wishing he had done something to be sent off for”.

Once the final whistle blew it was a short walk back to the clubhouse to use the facilities before setting off down the road to Barrow to catch up with the family.

So Kells join the other eight NCL sides who move onto the Third Round where the League 1 teams enter the fray and the possibility of drawing anything from a West Cumbrian derby with Wath Brow Hornets or a trip to the south of France in two weeks time.

Dear god, please not Toulouse away!!

The Road to Wembley - Part 1

Challenge Cup Round 1

Leigh Miners Rangers 14 Underbank Rangers 20 - Saturday, 30 January 2016

Like every rugby league fan I was highly anticipating the new season getting underway.  Having collected League Express for a couple of weeks around Christmas and New Year I clocked eyes on the draw for the First Round of the Challenge Cup.

Having already guaranteed myself a ticket to the Final at Wembley in August an idea came to my head – why not try and get to a game in every round of this year’s Challenge Cup?  I happened to say this in passing to the wife and was duly answered by a raise of an eyebrow, but thankfully she was willing to participate in my little adventure.

I got the idea from when I worked in non-league football where I met a few guys from Newcastle who were doing the same thing with the FA Cup and their path crossed a few of our games.

I checked the fixtures as I wanted to seek the nearest one to my home.  I saw Leigh Miners Rangers were hosting Underbank Rangers and thought perfect, it’s practically round the corner ... It worked out that I had the weekend free and thus, my journey begun!

I knew that the Miners had conquered all before them last season winning what I term the ‘non-league’ treble of NCL Premiers, Grand Final and Conference Trophy, but I had to do a bit more digging into who Underbank were.  Incidentally they won promotion to Division One last season so this game seemed to be an intriguing one to watch but Leigh were the overwhelming favourites.

So, having parked up at Twist Lane, situated close behind the more imposing Leigh Sports Village, I walked up to the only turnstile at the ground and paid the £4 to get myself and my wife into the game.  The man running the turnstile seemed to think that my wife was a regular to Miners games!  Maybe she was secretly going while I was at football last season?

The first place we ventured to was the pitch-side club house where I enjoyed a pre-match pint of bitter (a pint of cider for the lady) and had a flick through the match programme which was purchased at the entrance for a whole £1.  I was impressed to find that it was a full colour edition with plenty of info about the club and included the odd player and coach interview which I like to see.

The ground filled up and the game kicked off in that traditional ‘summer rugby’ weather of sleet, snow, hail and rain punctuated with a brief hint of sunshine every now and then.  Thankfully there was a covered porch area where we, along with many other supporters, spent most of the match craning our necks over everyone else to see the action out on the pitch.

The first half went the way of the Conference Premiers as expected, but the mixed weather meant that the game was still fairly open at half time with the score at 14-4 to the Miners.  A half time hot chocolate for the wife and a portion of chips for me were purchased from the tea hut, at a very reasonable price and we were ready for the second half.

Underbank surprised their hosts with a second try eight minutes after the restart and when Miners were sent down to 12 men the visitors took full advantage to level the tie a minute later with a converted try before an excellent second half performance from Underbank saw them grab a shock win with a couple of minutes to spare.

The final score read Leigh Miners Rangers 14 Underbank Rangers 20 and the match favourites were out!  It was clear to see what that meant them as they ran on the pitch at the final whistle and celebrated like they won the whole competition.  Fair play.

All-in-all it was a good afternoon at the rugby (for less than £12) which provided a surprise comeback victory for the underdogs and good rugby despite the conditions.

I must note that I did try and get a picture of the scoreboard at full time but the lads running it seemed to be disappointed as the boards came down before I could get my phone out of my pocket.  Oh well!

As is the tradition when going to a game in every round I wait impatiently and with baited breath for the second round draw and finding out where I would be going next.