Back in the groove with a win against Blackburn, Carlisle Rugby Club will try and build on that when they visit struggling Alnwick tomorrow.

Carlisle have already won at bottom side Ilkley, and Alnwick are just above them in the table with nine points and two wins to their name.

Alnwick were beaten 40-16 at Harrogate last weekend but their conquerors were making it six wins from six games so far. The North-east side have only scored 98 points in their seven games and that’s the lowest total in the league, with Ilkley even scoring more (112).

Carlisle will go into the game lifted by last weekend's hard-earned 20-12 home win against Blackburn, which came after a string of three successive away defeats.

It was a much better performance from Carlisle and defensive patterns had, clearly, been tightened up to deny Blackburn many opportunities to score.

The players worked hard to achieve that and deserve credit for turning a defence that was leaking seven tries a game, this time limiting the visitors to a couple of scores.

Hopefully, work on the training field will further refine the defence back into a solid wall which seemed to be crumbling in recent games. There certainly seemed to be little evidence of that against Blackburn.

Player-coach Matt Shields and Grant Connon scored Carlisle's tries, with Connon also kicking two penalties and two conversions.

Penrith also got back to winning ways in North One West when they travelled to Lancaster and beat Vale of Lune 28-19.

It was refreshing they were able to begin the game on the front foot. Instead of standing under their own posts in the first five minutes having conceded an early try, they took the lead.

Josh Dowson scored the try and, by half-time, Penrith had established a 20-12 advantage with further touchdowns from Olly Gutteridge (2) and James Reynolds.

Penrith had no regular place-kicker with them and, on a different day, this may have been their undoing. But on this occasion, it just made things closer than they need have been.

Brook Birley scored Penrith’s second-half try and the only successful kick came late on when skipper Ed Swale put over a penalty from in front of the posts.

Penrith are third in the table, six points behind leaders Wilmslow whose only defeat was at Winters Park.

It all makes tomorrow’s clash the league’s Match of the Day as Penrith host Birkenhead Park, second in the table four points ahead of the Cumbrians.

Birkenhead Park have also lost just the once and, last week, they were 36-3 home winners against Stockport.

Keswick stay rooted to the foot of the table, still looking for that first point, although they did score three tries at Burnage in a 45-21 defeat.

They had been trailing 45-0 but, in the last 15 minutes, they scored their tries through Matty Roper (2) and Ryan Weir, with all three converted by Lewis Bell.

Meanwhile, Keswick’s second-team managed to defeat their Eccles opponents 52-7, a comprehensive and entertaining win, much appreciated by the home supporters.

That win keeps Keswick's second-team in third in the County Courier Services Division Two North with a game in hand.

Tomorrow, Keswick are back at Davidson Park for the visit of Northwich who lie sixth in the table with five wins from their seven games so far.

In North Two West, Aspatria slipped to the bottom after losing 35-25 to unbeaten Rochdale at Bower Park.

After Jack Clegg kicked an early penalty, Rochdale went 13-3 in front before Aspatria pulled level at the break with a try from Grant Bethwaite, plus a conversion and penalty by Clegg.

A try for Bethwaite, again just after the restart, put Aspatria ahead but from a position of dominance, the home side allowed Rochdale back into the game through a mixture of naivety and errors.

Rochdale were ruthless in their execution and scored three further tries in a 20-minute spell. Aspatria responded with a try from Paddy Noutch, which Clegg converted, but it came too late.

The Black Reds will start their efforts to climb off the bottom at Sefton tomorrow. They are fourth-bottom but only a point better off than the Cumbrians.

They will go into the game on the back of a 29-26 win at Winnington Park - only their second win of the season.

In the Cumbria League, it’s a red letter day for Robert Marrs, of Wigton, who will be playing his 300th game for the club against Upper Eden.

Still only 31, Marrs has been a splendid servant for the Lowmoor Road club since he started 14 years ago. He was also a member of the Cumbria squad that played at Twickenham in 2013.

Marrs will be looking to inspire Wigton to a seventh straight win as they stand second in the Cumbria League, only a point behind leaders Cockermouth.

The Greens have home advantage over Upper Eden who are currently fifth in the table, eight points behind tomorrow’s hosts.

Wigton made it six wins in a row when they swept aside the challenge of Windermere last week, winning 49-7.There were tries by Charles Studholme (2), Matt Harrison, Fergus Ledingham, Stephen Harris, Elliott Armstrong and Josh Leeson.

Six of them were converted by Leeson, with Ledingham adding the seventh.