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!!