Approaching the final quarter of the game, Aspatria led Park 25:10. They were not home yet, as subsequent events proved, but they looked in control of the end result. Why the home side lost momentum is a mystery, but confidence in their own ability drained quickly in the face of a spirited comeback from Park. The game ended a 25-all draw, and on balance that was a fair result.

In excellent conditions for rugby, both sides made lively starts to the game, and in the early stages, only a 40 meter penalty from Aspatria’s Jack Clegg provided a difference. There were try chances for both teams, with Aspatria coming close after 10 minutes when some top-class interaction between home captain Chris Graham and the halfback pairing of Mark Watson and Clegg gained a strong position for the home forwards, close to the try line. Park did well to see off this challenge, but home supporters did not have to wait long for a breakthrough.

The first home try was a score of real quality. The precise interaction between several home players set up a smart attack. The end-game came with No8 Matthew Atkinson clearing out several defenders to hand right wing Shane Cusack a path to the right corner flag, where he dotted down.

Aspatria’s 8:0 advantage did not last long. Park quickly came back into contention and set up position in the home 22. Their attempts to cross the line were laboured, but they retained the ball and eventually the pressure told, delivering a converted try.

A very even game was developing. Perhaps down to who could take their chances. One of these came Park’s way on 25 minutes with Aspatria conceding a penalty in front of the posts. Park led 8:10, but only a handful of minutes late,r they handed Aspatria the same option and Clegg regained the lead for his team.

With the half closing, there was a flurry of activity. Aspatria followed up their first try with an even more impressive effort for the second. Second row, Jude Wilkinson was the scorer, but he was only one participant of many in a pulsating move that started around the halfway line. The hard yards were achieved by the centre partnership of Grant Bethwaite and Ryan Scott, who both made vital ground as the ball flowed towards the line in an unstoppable move.

18:10 Aspatria, but just before the halftime whistle, Park suffered another blow. One of their forwards was guilty of an illegal tackle. Many watching felt a red would have been appropriate, but the referee was well-placed to judge and decided a yellow sufficient.

Aspatria started the second half on a high. With 7 minutes gone, Atkinson was able to salvage the ball from a maul that looked to be going Park’s way. The big forward had the presence to notice Watson outside him and released the ball. Watson still had a long way to go, but the defence was flat-footed and the mercurial scrum half went in close to the posts to provide Clegg with a simple conversion and increase the home advantage to 25:10.

The conversion proved to be near enough to Clegg’s last action as he was taken off injured. This marked the start of Aspatria losing cohesion in their general play, but credit must also go to Park, who continued to work hard and were ruthless in their exploitation of some loose play served up by Aspatria.

The fight back had started. An Aspatria attack faltered around halfway, and Park took full advantage of the broken play. Within seconds, they regained the ball and cut the home defence open with a move that began with hard work from the forwards and was finished with a slick attack by the back division.

25:15 more or less became 25:22 from the restart. Aspatria failed to use the kick-off to pen Park deep, and some lacklustre tackling allowed time and space for a 50/20 kick, gifting Park a dangerous position in the home 22. They did not waste it. The big question now was, could Aspatria hold out?

The early answer was that this seemed unlikely. Aspatria were desperately hanging on as Park smelt victory was in their grasp. With 7 minutes remaining, Aspatria halted Park's progress in front of the posts but at the cost of a penalty. Park had a decision to make. They could either take the 3 points and draw level, or use their momentum to go for a try that would deliver a bonus point win.

Pragmatism took centre stage, and the penalty was duly dispatched to level the score at 25 all with not much time left on the clock. Was it the right decision? Aspatria, for no obvious reason, came roaring back, searching for a winning score. In the final few plays, they had good field position in and around the Park 22 but could not achieve a breakthrough. Both sides would feel some relief when the referee’s whistle ended a very watchable game of rugby.