Kendal Rugby Union Football Club were beaten 27-5 by Blackburn in their latest pre-season match, with a competitive opening period followed by a decisive second-half surge from the visitors.
The fixture was played on Saturday 12 September 2026 and kicked off at 3pm. It was arranged against one of the sides Kendal are due to face when the league campaign begins, although the start of the league season has been postponed for a fortnight because of the effect of the dry summer on playing grounds.
Blackburn take narrow half-time lead
The first half, described in the match report as two quarters, was fairly even, but Blackburn scored the only points. Kendal had won a penalty and Aaron Stephens put it close to the Blackburn line. However, the resulting throw missed the intended jumpers, allowing Blackburn to gather possession and launch a length-of-the-field attack that ended in a try.
That left Kendal 5-0 behind. The home side had an immediate opportunity to respond when Blackburn failed to deal with Stephens’ restart. Kendal won a lineout in the Blackburn twenty-two, but the throw was not straight and the chance disappeared.
Blackburn were also struggling to secure their own lineouts, while the visitors repeatedly anticipated Kendal’s calls and stole possession. Those set-piece problems would become an important feature of the final score.
Visitors pull clear after restart
Blackburn doubled their lead soon after the restart when an interception led to a try. The visitors then appeared to move up several gears, scoring three more tries to establish a 27-0 advantage.
Kendal’s final score came from Dan Shorrock, who crossed from short range on the left after good work by the Kendal forwards. The try reduced the deficit to 27-5, but it was not enough to change the result.
The report said mistakes in both attack and defence contributed to the scoreline, with the lineout singled out as a particular problem. It also judged that the match could have been much closer, while acknowledging that Blackburn were the better team for much of the second half.
Players praised after Blackburn defeat
Aaron Stephens and Patrick Wolstenholme were identified as having good games. Alfie Bradshaw, who had not been involved in the previous match at Keswick, was also praised, as was Dini Noyo after coming on in the second half.
The squad listed for the match included Stephens, Wolstenholme, Bradshaw, Shorrock, Noyo, Arran Sullivan, Barney Coxon, Ben Dixon, Ben O’Halloran, Chris Rochelle, Connor Lees, Evan Beattie, Jordan Johnson, Liam Barr, Matt Houghton, Mckenzie Cousins, Ollie Rose, Oscar Coxon and Theo Stephenson, along with several players the report did not recognise.
Joe Anderson, Zane Butler, Johnny Swallow and Tommy Scanlan were absent. Ben O’Halloran and Oscar Coxon made their first appearances, while Noyo, Johnson, Houghton and Cousins returned after missing the previous week’s cup match at Keswick.