SUNDAY saw Skipton Roses travel to Keswick Falcons in the third round of the Junior Cup.

It was the first meeting of the teams and with both teams doing well in all competitions, it was going to be a very competitive match. The Roses chose to kick off and at 2:30pm the referee got the game underway. Even with the heavy underfoot pitch, both teams showed they wanted to play open rugby.

In attack both teams were well drilled with the forwards carrying strong for two or three phases before putting the ball through the hands, but strong tackling and good defence stopped either team making any real progress. Just before mid way through the first half, the Roses broke the deadlock, when after three strong forward carries, the ball was distributed into the hands of fullback Courteney Pearson who found a gap and ran in under the posts.

Centre Laura Ackroyd added the conversion. The Falcons came straight back at the Roses and camped themselves in the Roses 22 and repeatedly attacked, however the Roses defence was upto the task.

The penalty count slowly crept up and just before half time, the referee produced a yellow card against the Roses. With a player advantage and a solid lineout, the Falcons kept the pressure on and reaped the rewards scoring on the stroke of half time, they added the conversion and the game was tied at 7 - 7.

The second half got underway and the Roses started the stronger. The forwards carried that little harder, the backs distributed the ball that little bit better and soon Pearson scored her second try of the match. Ackroyd added the conversion. 14-7 .The Roses made changes and 18 year old debutant Amelia Mackenzie went on to the wing and what an impact, her first touch of the ball just inside the Falcons half and with a little space, she showed a pace and skill to beat the last defender and touchdown. Ackroyd missed the conversion, 19-7.

From the restart the Falcons put the Roses immediately under pressure and regained possession and soon scored. They missed the conversion. The scores were 19-12 going into the final five minutes and the Falcons forwards repeatedly pressured the Roses try line but the Roses dug deep and were determined not to let them score. The Falcons used the pick and go to work their way in field closer to the posts, as they would need the conversion to bring the game level and continued the pressure. A high tackle by the Roses within the 5 metres left the referee with no option as he ran under the posts to award a penalty try, seven points. The scores were level at 19-19, no time for the restart as the referee blew for full time.

A draw was a fitting result for a very competitive game between two evenly match teams and both teams would have deserved their place in the next round of the cup, but within RFU competition rules in all knockout competitions, there is no extra time and it goes to tries and conversions and if these are equal, the win is award to the away team.