For the eighth year in a row, Wigton stage its annual game between the second team, the Wanderers and the club’s students, currently home for the holidays.

It proved to be the most competitive yet as the Students built-up a 15-0 lead inside the first 30 minutes but the Wanderers, who lead the Cumbria League Two table, came back to win 31-25.

Mark Lee, Wigton’s head coach, rarely has an opportunity to see the Wanderers in action and afterwards acknowledged the amount of talent waiting to break into his first team squad.

The Students started very confidently with half-backs Oliver Richardson and Fergus Ledingham particularly prominent. They got the backs moving well and Richard Moffatt opened the scoring after only five minutes.

More good three-quarter play saw the Students double their lead after 15 minutes and again it was Moffatt who finished-off.

They scored a third try on the half hour when full-back Jake Twentyman came into the line and went over. But crucially none of the tries were converted.

The Wanderers got back into the game through the hard work of their forwards, particularly John Swainson and Dan Cozens and before the break they scored.

Centre Matthew Harrison finished off with a strong 40-metre run to the line and Matt Rogers converted.

Five minutes into the second-half and the Wanderers had cut the deficit to a point.

Half-backs Sam Harrison and Rogers were using the ball well and Brad Bouch took advantage to go in for the second try. Rogers converted.

Rogers, whose kicking game was excellent, edged the Wanderers ahead on 55 minutes when he dropped a goal but the Students weren’t finished.

They included in their line-up three members of the Wigton Colts side – John Kemp, Christian Simpson and Owen Sinclair – who all showed-up well.

It was Sinclair who went 20 metres to score the Students’ fourth unconverted try.

Into the last ten minutes and two converted tries swung the game the Wanderers’ way.

First, man-of-the-match Swainson powered over and then, on 74 minutes, Harrison scored his second try. Both were converted by Rogers.

In the dying moments, the Students’ captain Richardson nipped in smartly at a Wanderers scrum put-in stole the ball and darted over for the final try.

The match was well controlled by Sam Noble, a former Wigton player whose career was ended by a knee injury at University and at 24 has taken up refereeing with the Durham Society.