This game had it all. An 800-plus crowd, seven tries, a nailbiting finish, and a superb win for Upper Eden over Kendal — the most significant victory in the club’s history, writes Jo Burgess.
The Cumbria Cup has been in existence for 140 years but can rarely have seen such an epic clash. It was a superb advert for the competition — in which some clubs have lost interest in recent years — and for rugby in Cumbria as a whole.
Upper Eden — unbeaten all last season and so far in this campaign — play in Counties 1 Cumbria, which is two levels below Kendal’s Regional 1 North West League. Eden were harshly denied promotion last year due to an RFU league restructure, but look set to top their league again this year, having played five and won five, with 233 points for and just 47 against.
And they are no strangers to giant killing — last month they beat Aspatria 27-26 away from home in the Cumbria Cup quarter-final. Aspatria play one level above the Kirkby Stephen men, in the same league as Penrith, who they will meet in an all-Eden final.
After the final whistle, Will Birkbeck, who shares the Upper Eden captaincy with twin brother James, said: “We played outstanding. We thought it would be hard work, but there’s nothing better than this. I’ve never played in front of a crowd so big here — it was tremendous; it does add to it.
“The team put a hell of a performance in. At training they’ve all been coming and putting the work in.”
An immensely proud Upper Eden chairman Neil Marston said: “It was the biggest day in the club’s history on two fronts. We had never before experienced such a large crowd with such a tremendous atmosphere, and the squad again made club history by winning a Cumbria Cup semi-final and beating the highest ranked team in the county.
“I am extremely proud of all the players and the backroom volunteers in what they have achieved. The players are a very tight bunch and play for each other — teamwork at its best. The victory was well deserved and a result of all the hard work and dedication put in at training.”
