THE UPWARD curve in form Kendal have found continued with a vital 29-22 over sixth-placed Luctonians after the long trip to Herefordshire on Saturday.

Head coach Jon Nicholson said: “Last Saturday’s hard-earned win was built on a fantastic first-half defensive display.

“Luctonians had three attacking plays in the first 20 minutes of at least five or six phases, which all resulted in them being forced into turning the ball over.

“This led to frustration on their part as we controlled possession, which in turn allowed Kendal to take full advantage of Luctonians frequent indiscretions.”

He added: “However Nuneaton’s bonus-point win against Hull Ionians keeps the pressure on.

“Harrogate will be a tough nut to crack at Mint Bridge this Saturday, particularly as our playing resources start to become stretched, but doggedness and belief count double when it really matters.”

There was a real self-belief and confidence about the side, with the senior players like Richard Harryman and Duncan Green putting in vintage displays and Mallinson and White growing in stature and carrying and retaining possession well.

Simon Mulholland was a handful on the conter-attack in the first half on a hard, fast ground that had seen only 6mm of rain in March, while Ian Voortman had his tail up and carried some vital ball into contact, where Kendal were effective in retaining and frustrating Lucs into conceding penalties.

Kendal’s game plan looked to be working smoothly as Gareth Gore and his men build a 19-3 lead by the break. Kendal's Mark Ireland and Lucs' John Morris exchanged kicks before the Black and Ambers took the lead through a try from winger Dan Lowther who seized on a chip ahead and showed strength to touch down.

Ireland added another penalty before Lucs' prospects were dealt a blow when they lost No8 Paul Hulland to the sinbin when yellow-carded for a trip on Simon Mulholland.

Lucs were further depleted to 13 men as their indiscipline showed when replacement centre Will Richards was also sent to to sinbin after a high tackle on Lowther.

Another couple of penalties from Ireland's pristine boot made it a clear-cut 19-3 gap between the teams at the break. Lucs regrouped, however, and their fightback began when centre Cameron Hewitt sidestepped his way through the defence and under the posts.

Morris converted to close the gap to nine points but Kendal's riposte showed they were in no mood to relinquish their grip so easily and good teamwork led to a powerful score from prop Richard Harryman. Ireland was sure-footed with the conversion to make it 26-10 as the match entered the final quarter.

An offside decision enabled Kendal to stretch that advantage by another three points with the penalty and although Lucs rallied with two late tries from hooker Chris Condliffe and prop Anthony Marfell, Kendal held on to be worthy winners.