An excellent Cumbria League derby, between the only two unbeaten sides, was not settled until the final minute.

Keswick, with home advantage, edged a thriller 24-18 against Cockermouth who were able to pick up a bonus-point consolation.

Jeff Peet, the Cockermouth chairman, said: “It was an outstanding game, enjoyed by all and contested in a great spirit with good rugby from both teams.”

Keswick were the quickest out of the blocks and got off to a great start with an early try through Andy Muir.

Fortunately for the away side, this proved a wake-up call and the Cockermouth pack, who were again dominant all afternoon, responded by interlinking with the back line and pressuring Keswick back into the red zone.

When space opened up, back row forward Wayne Cavanagh charged through to score the equalising try.

The game settled down for the next 10 minutes as both teams went at each other but with excellent controls in their defences.

On 21 minutes, Brad Taylor put the away side into the lead with a well taken penalty but at 8-5 it was still too close to call.

In fact it was Keswick, keen to retain their unbeaten league record, who were to finish the first half the strongest. They got their noses in front with a try, scored by Olly Macpherson, and converted by Muir.

The young Cockermouth side is still guilty of switching-off at the wrong time and, just before half-time, Keswick took advantage of this and scored another well taken try from George Holme converted by the reliable Andy Muir.

Both teams went into the second half knowing the game was going to be tight and mistakes had to be minimum.

The Cockermouth pack started the second half on fire and with big performances from Adam Brough and Paul Greening, ably supported by scrum half Ross McGuire, really pressurised the Keswick defence.

This led to a penalty well taken by Taylor on 44 minutes and more pressure resulted in Muir going to the sin bin on 50 mins for taking down the Cockermouth maul.

The momentum stayed with the visiting team and the new centre partnership started to make its mark with Jack Gaskell causing the Keswick defence problems and the pace from Mark Watson backing him up consistently.

This combination led to the next try scored by Watson, who also added the conversion which set-up the game for a very intense finish. With 15 minutes remaining, Cockermouth held a 19-18 advantage.

Unfortunately, some mistakes crept into both teams’ play with kicks for touch going out on the full.

Further yellow cards followed for both teams and the side that made the right decisions under pressure was going to come out on top.

It was Keswick who produced the big finish, taking the game to Cockermouth and, on 79 minutes, scored the clinching try. They had continually pressured the Cockermouth line until James Hartley crashed through to make the line.

The home players were delighted to keep their unbeaten record going but the improving Cockermouth team were also very pleased to pick up their first point against Keswick in a long time.