On a bitterly cold afternoon Port welcomed visitors Kendal, knowing that a win was vital to reflect the progress of the last few matches.
Sam Grady-Graham, Jack Martin and captain Rory Austin were absentees with various knocks, and this meant another reshuffle to the back line. However, Rory Atwill was back in the fray and his relationship with Alex Pantechis certainly looks one to watch.
Port began confidently but with a slight tail wind, sent some kicks too long and a held up try attempt followed. 10 minutes had elapsed, and a few niggling penalties had stifled Port’s attacking potency. Kendal were also making basic errors, with penalties not finding touch, something that plagued them all match.
More Port pressure resulted in a penalty and a kick to touch deep into Kendal’s 22. The line out was secured, and Tom Gardner snuck over completely unopposed. 7-0 (try conv).
There was a flow to Port’s game and the backline were clicking into gear. This has a lot to do with Alex Pantechis, his ability to release quick ball and his eye for a pass is crucial in allowing the backs to have space to operate.
Kendal, for the first time in the match, were going through the phases and quickly Port were defending their line. Port couldn’t hang on and a clever pass through the legs, resulted in a score for the visitors. 7-7 (try conv).
Port would have been disappointed that their first half conversation rate was so low. The scoreboard could’ve looked very different at half time.

The second half kicked off and Kendal were growing into the game, and this was exemplified with the ball being worked out wide and an overload on the left wing. 7-14 (try conv). Their Argentinian flyer was their standout player who looked dangerous every time he received the ball in open field.
Unfathomably Port were behind but the players shrugged off the deficit with real conviction and spent large chunks off the second half in a territory advantage.
Port were once again securing good quality ball and after Kendal conceded a penalty some brilliant quick thinking from Alex Pantechis, with a tap and go and superb on the shoulder support play from Rory Atwill and the scores were back level. 14-14 (try conv).
Kendal then donated an early Christmas gift as they didn’t touch the ball down over their own try line properly. Port punished this error immediately as another solid scrum allowed Si Green the simplest of scores. 19-14 (conv. missed).
Another moment of madness from Kendal as a tap penalty was kicked straight into touch. Port again capitalised and after some controlled phases, Will Conner sauntered in with the awareness to touch down under the posts. 26-14 (try conv).
The final ten was upon us and Kendal weren’t going to make it comfortable after scoring another try. 26-19 (conv. missed). However, after running it deep into Port’s 22 they couldn’t keep the ball in play and Port kicked the ball out from the final line-out to claim a bonus point win. Final score… Port 26 Kendal 19.

Some notable performances were Rory Atwill who showed dynamism and provided some cracking offloads, Dom Sheratte’s switch to throwing at the line-out stabilised Port’s control from the set piece and Callum Hibb’s ball carrying typified a captain’s performance.
Coach Keith said afterwards that, “We need to find composure at the critical moments.” This was a sentiment echoed by the players, particularly in light of the opportunities created in the match.

We travel away to Kirby Lonsdale this coming Saturday and are looking to record back-to-back wins!