Hoppers secured their second bonus point victory in a row with an impressive win on the road at Kendal. Once again the forwards provided an excellent platform as they took it to the Kendal pack from the outset.
The forwards set the tone early as a great catch and drive from a line out ate up the yards inside the home 22 and when the referee awarded a penalty Alex Zavallis-Roebuck got the Hoppers on the score sheet from in front of the posts.
Hoppers continued to dominate in the tight but let Kendal back into the game after a needless penalty reversal gave the host great field position inside the 22. Once again the referee awarded a penalty in front of the post and Mark Ireland levelled the score.
Almost immediately Hoppers got themselves back onto the front foot and into the Kendal 22. With the forwards again making good yards from line-outs Kendal’s Gareth Gore was shown a Yellow Card for persistent infringement. Hoppers again went for the line-out this time from just 5m out and Jordan Pearson was driven over for the try.
Pearson had his second try just a few minutes later from a similar distance. Owen McKenna took advantage of a poor kick and launched a counter attack. James Williams took the ball into the 22 and then the forwards took over sniping away around the contact area with Pearson touching down in a similar spot to his first. Zavallis-Roebuck added the conversion. Hoppers could have had another try before the half but Russell Flynn’s pass was adjudged to have gone forward, but Hoppers still went into the break with a 15-3 lead.
Both sides started the second half well and Hopper’s needed some good covering defence to stop the home side from closing the gap but it was the visitors who increased their lead. Starting on their own 22 with a scrum, won from disrupting a Kendal scrum and further showing the forwards dominance, Dominic Moon broke clear and powered across the half way line. Mark Edwards well judged kick stopped just before the line and the covering Kendal player was pushed back over his try line giving Hoppers a scrum 5, almost 80 metres away from where they were defending a scrum just a minute before. The Hopper’s pack again was too strong for the home side and after resetting the scrum referee Guy Steele-Bodger made the decision to award a penalty try. Edwards added the extras from straight in front of the posts.
Kendal finally got a try of their own when John Ladell scored midway through the half. The home side capitalised on a poor clearance kick and both backs and forwards linked up well. The forwards had carried the ball up the middle but were unable to smash over, so the ball was released to the backs and centre Rob Aloe found a little space and his well timed offload gave Ladell the ball in space to score, Ireland was successful with the conversion.
The home supporter’s joy was short lived however, after stealing a Hopper’s line-out the backs were hesitant in clearing their lines allowing Tom Hughes to charge down the kick. Hughes collected the ball and coasted in untouched for the try, securing the bonus point.
The closing minutes were a nervous affair as Kendal through everything at the Hoppers in search of points. Matters were not helped when James Smith was sin binned and Kendal scored from a quick tap penalty. They moved the ball quickly through the hands before Ben Robinson weaved his way to the line. When Ireland added the conversion Kendal were only 10 points down with plenty of time for a comeback but Hoppers dug deep and hung on, in part due to a wonderful try saving tackle by James Williams just before the line which Hoppers were then able to clear. Kendal did however manage to salvage the losing bonus point with the last kick of the game as Ireland landed his second penalty.
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