Two landmark occasions were marked when Penrith Rugby Club’s first team travelled to the Wirral on Saturday.
Coach Scott Rattray named himself on the bench and came on to play alongside son Archie — the first time a father and son have played in the first team for around 50 years.
And Mike Stephens, who last played for the first team in season 2018/19, when he finished on 299 games, returned to Winters Park in mid-season and played for the seconds, but came on in the first half on Saturday to notch his 300th first team appearance — no mean feat.
Penrith lost the game 24-12, but there were a lot of changes to the side that beat Kendal the previous week.
However, head coach Dave Preston said: “Despite all the changes, the performance against Wirral was very positive. Tom Kirk came back into the side and had his best game for us.”
This weekend, Penrith travel to league leaders Macclesfield, who need to win the game to secure the league title.
“We know now the scale of the task. They will have to beat us to be sure of winning the league,” said Preston. “Although we know we are now safe, we are still looking to pick up as many points as we can.
“The lads are not going down there just to make up the numbers.”
