Windermere - 13, Kendal A - 51.

KENDAL A swept Windermere aside in a one-sided final at Dawes Meadow on Saturday.

The visitors, though behind for a brief period in the first half, dominated play throughout and were always going to win. Not that Windermere did not compete hard, they just were unable to match the general speed, fitness and organisation of this impressive Kendal outfit.

Kendal scored seven tries in all, three in the first half and four more later with Luke Ladell grabbing a hat-trick.

The home cause was not helped by the sending-off of scrum half Dan Nield, for a head-butt following an incident in the Windermere line early in the second half.

This undoubtedly was reflected in the final scoreline but, in truth, had little bearing on the result.

Confusion over the starting time delayed the final an hour. The Windermere team were ready for the widely-advertised starting time of 1pm as were the three appointed match officials. Kendal arrived half an hour later and after they had gone through their warm-up routine, play finally began at 2.00 pm.

The visitors attacked from the start, their forwards driving deep into home territory. Strong defence kept them out but it was completely against the run of play when Chris Sansom gave Windermere a surprise lead with a beautifully-struck penalty from half-way after nine minutes. He might have had another shot at goal a few minutes later from 10 yards closer but elected instead to kick down the line.

Kendal, though held in the scrum, were winning a lot of ball, arriving at the breakdowns in numbers and backs and forwards were involved in some spectacular handling moves. Unlike Windermere, where the ball carrier was often isolated, Kendal's speed and support play enabled them to sustain attacks and it was simply a matter of time before they made the breakthrough.

Prop forward Nigel Pearson got their first try from close range and Andrew Boardley added the goal points.

Boardley followed up with a penalty goal and lock-forward Craig Wilson raced in for a try leaving Boardley's conversion a formality.

Sansom landed a second penalty for Windermere but the speedy Ladell romped over for the visitors with Boardley's conversion leaving Kendal 24-6 ahead at the break.

Soon after the re-start, Boardley kicked a penalty and after the sending-off, Ladell scored two tries in quick succession, both converted.

Windermere fought back and were rewarded with a try from full back Simon Cole which Sansom converted. Two more tries from Kendal, the first by Dan Stevens and the second by James Hadwin took them over the half-century and to a well-deserved victory.

May 30, 2003 12:00