"Mint Bridge has seen many days like Saturday over the years.

The arrival of opponents whose confidence was in line with the expenditure necessary to assemble their team, and whose lofty expectations steadily evaporated in the face of that powerful combination of home team resilience, home town support and a glutinous home pitch.

It has, however, been some time since we exper-ienced one. Certainly, it was the biggest crowd for some time. Those who had missed the Richmond game the previous week, were treated to an action replay, and left in no doubt that it had not been a freak display by a performance that bore the identical characteristics of enterprise in attack and resilience in defence.

The sponsorship of the game by our friends at Kendal Cricket Club did much to enhance the occasion, though had only limited impact on the size of the crowd watching the match, as irregular attenders interpreted the all-afternoon bar opening as a compulsion, rather than a facility.

While there have been many Saturdays on which this would have represented sound judgement, this was certainly not one of them, Those who did make their way to the pitch contributed to an outstanding atmos- phere in the ground, which responded to an inspired display by the team.

There was a rising demand for sweet tea, as both players and supporters of Bradford required treatment for shock as the home side failed to conform to the expectations of both the visitors and the Pools Panel. Kendal simply swept the illustrious opponents aside in the first half hour, building an insurmountable lead with some irresistible handling and support play.

The desire to take the game to Bradford, especially while pitch conditions made rugby temporarily possible, was manifest throughout the team, and found expression in three of the best tries seen on that sticky sward for some considerable time.

If the first half demonstrated the team's attacking capacity, the second period saw evidence of recently discovered defensive resolution.

Despite the gathering momentum of the visitors' attacks, there was a confidence that the lead could be defended, and, indeed, it was with some comfort. When Richard Harryman made a 40-metre touch finder that rolled beautifully across the line, there came a conviction that this was to be our day.

In fairness, Bradford's new South African recruits were powerful units, who will undoubtedly make their impact on the league in due course. Their Tongans, Samoans and Premiership pensioners were much less impressive, and, on the day, there was no doubt that the unglamorous assembled might of Workington, Penrith, Wigton and Kendal was too much for them.

With 18 of the match squad born in Cumbria comes an undoubted team dynamic, which can create a whole greater than the sum of the parts, and a cohesiveness that cannot be achieved by throwing together a bunch of hired assassins.

No doubt Bradford's time will come, and their achievements will eventually come to match their ambition and expenditure.

However, having started the day with the expectations of the Christians keeping an appointment with the Lions, it was comforting to finish, on this occasion, with a satisfaction tempered only by the failure to achieve the bonus point.