Leek were taught a harsh lesson in taking your chances by a Kendal side who rode their luck at times, but were ruthless whenever they had an opportunity to score.

Given the league table, the Moorlanders knew this was a game they had to win, and a bright first half performance raised hopes among the watching blue and white fans.

The hosts got off to their usual slow start, failing to deal with a deep kick into their half after just two minutes. A backward bounce saw the ball pop into the hands of the chasing Kendal winger and he went in unchallenged under the posts.

Leek were looking dangerous with ball in hand, Will Midwinter, Joel Booth and Lewis Dunleavy all making good ground as they gained the ascendancy. With pressure mounting, Leek had a ruck a couple of yards out on the left. Scrum half Joe Byrne went to pass along the line, but the referee was in the way, so he cut back left and scampered through the flailing cover defence to score, Midwinter's conversion tieing things up at 7-7.

The blue and whites continued to dominate both territory and possession, but a series of unforced errors saw them fail to convert. They turned down two kickable penalties in favour of catching and driving from the lineout - but the lineout was misfiring, and when they did secure attacking ball they dropped it.

The pattern continued as the half drew to a close, but then a quick break down the left saw Kendal reclaim the lead with the last play - 7-12.

There seemed all to play for in the second period, and an early Midwinter penalty narrowed the gap. But then Leek's defence went AWOL as the visitors upped the pace. Two tries in quick succession came from missed tackles in midfield and Kendal stretched the lead to 10-26.

As Leek began chasing the game, they started playing from their own half, and an interception try saw Kendal pull away further. They added another from close range shortly after.

Leek regathered, and a series of driving runs from the pack set up Rob McDermott for a try on the left. A last-minute Byrne try after some quick phase play wasn't enough, and the hosts were once again left to ponder what might have been.

Our 2nd XV had a real ding-dong battle away at Cannock with the hosts scoring a last play try to tie the game. And our Colts XV had the result of the day with an impressive 50-0 win in their early kick off.

Well done to all who donned the blue and white today. Thanks, as always, to our opponents, officials, supporters, volunteers and sponsors.