No-one could pinpoint the last time the two sides had met at senior level, so neither side could be sure what to expect when they met on Wednesday evening in one of the few County Cup matches to survive.

There was a good deal of interest in the game, with plenty in the ground to watch what turned out to be a very entertaining match.
Carlisle started like they had on Saturday against Kirkby Lonsdale, with Egremont pinned back in their half for the first quarter as the forwards were dominating set piece. It was down to club stalwart Tom Graham to get the score board ticking over as a 5m lineout produced the space for Tom to go down the blindside into the corner for Carlisle's first try.

Egremont were determined to show they were not going to be pushovers and gradually started to push Carlisle back into their half. Just as Carlisle seemed to have weathered the initial storm, a loose ball was scooped up by the Egremont outside centre to run away from the Carlisle defenders and go under the posts for a converted try, and take the lead 7-5.

It didn't take Carlisle long to reply and within three minutes after some hard driving work by the forwards, flanker Tom Percival buried over the line for the second try, converted by Jason Israel.
Despite Carlisle dominating the scrum, Egremont were able to get the ball away, and only some sterling defensive work, kept the West Cumbrians pegged back, as they probed the Carlisle defence for gaps.

It was Carlisle however who got the final score of the half, as some slick hands from the back line, created a space for debutant fullback Freddie Rawling, to speed through the Egremont defence scoring his first senior try for the club under the posts. The successful conversion drew the half to a close with Carlisle deservedly 19-7 up at the interval.

Head Coach George Graham rang the changes at half time, keen to use the opportunity to see how players in the squad performed. As with any changes it takes time for players to find their rhythm, and neither side dominated the game for the first 15 minutes. It was Egremont who got the next score as they strung the Carlisle defence out across their 22m, creating space on the outside for their winger to go over in the right corner just shy of the hour mark for an unconverted try.

At 19-12 with only a score in it, it was getting a little too close for comfort for Carlisle, and a slick move at pace down the right wing, secured field position close to the Egremont line, with winger Tyler Callaghan getting the chance to dive over for Carlisle's fourth
The fifth would come with 10 minutes to go, as winger Ollie Burns sped down the left to get Carlisle within 10m of the Egremont line. It then was left to the forwards to do the hard graft of going through phase play up to the Egremont line, before tighthead prop Nat Mossop, bulldozed his way over for the fifth Carlisle try.

With Carlisle ahead at 29-12, they should have wrapped the game up comfortably with 10mins to go. However Egremont had other ideas, and loose ball at the breakdown was secured by one of the Egremont backs, and he shot through an opening in the Carlisle defence to go under the posts for a converted try.
It was not squeaky bum time for Carlisle though as they comfortably saw out the rest of the game to secure the win, 29-19, and progress to the next round.

This was a good test for Carlisle as the West Cumbrian side gave no quarter and there were plenty of crunching tackles put in, and some sore bodies the next day no doubt.

Whilst Head Coach George Graham would be pleased with the win, he'd recognise there were still plenty of areas to work on, especially given the scrum dominance his side had, with the league campaign dawning very quickly now. Still it was good to see a Carlisle side with a bit more pace and energy than of late, and the preseason work is certainly showing in the two games the spectators have watched.

We wait to hear what stage the County Cup is at given the number of sides withdrawing, but the league campaign starts on the 3rd of September away to South Shields Westoe.