Penrith Rugby Club's poor away form continued as they went down 32-12 at Blackburn in North One West.

There was not even the consolation of a bonus point as they slipped further behind leaders Carlisle.

Although they did come away empty-handed, they could be reasonably happy with their performance as they battled hard with a side that showed five changes in the starting line-up after a number of unavailabilities.

The visitors were soon on the back foot and, after seven minutes, trailed 12-0. Then, the home side went for a long-range penalty with the wind and extended their lead by three points.

Penrith did rally though and, in poor conditions, the forwards rose to the task.

Scott Lancaster, drafted into the side for his first senior game for three seasons, set the tone, while Ryan Lee and Will Morgan were also to the fore. As Blackburn were forced back into their own half and then into their 22, Penrith looked more and more dangerous.

They got their reward after strong running from Matt Allinson and then Adam Howe put them in a good position. The ball came to stand-off Ross Jackson who released Jay Rossi who found George Graham, and he reached the line.

The visitors continued to press as half-time approached and they had a series of penalties in the home 22 which they kept running as Blackburn kept infringing.

It was not pretty but Penrith were getting the upper hand as both sides lost a player to a yellow card.

Two penalties later and Penrith claimed their second try as the forwards battered the line. Morgan was a foot short, then Howe was inches short before Lancaster’s drive saw him ground the ball on the line.

Penrith were adrift by only three points and now had the strong wind at their backs for the second half.

They made a decent start to the second period and looked to have taken the lead as Jon Fell appeared to get over in the corner but it wasn’t given.

Penrith were their own worst enemy as they let their discipline slip and conceded a host of penalties which made the home side’s progress into the wind a lot easier than it should have been.

The more frustrated they got as the game drifted away from them, the higher the penalty count went.

Blackburn scored after they won a ball against the head in the visitors’ 22 and then poor tackling allowed a fourth and, with their tails up, they added a fifth.

The visitors’ effort didn’t falter and they got into some decent positions and looked as if they might rescue something from the game, but then came the inevitable penalty or dropped pass.