A LATE try ensured Colne travelled back down the M6 from Carnforth with the points on Saturday.
Carnforth had not had the amount of snow that fell in these parts, and the pitch was in excellent condition for rugby.
The home side seemed confident before the game as they were looking for their third win on the bounce, but the All Blacks were set for the challenge as always.
Colne kicked off, and the kick went deep into the home 22. Good pressure at the breakdown put the home side on the back foot, and a poor clearance gave Colne the ball. Within the first two minutes Nathan Grant charged over for a try out wide.
The home side soon hit back as they gained ground up field, and a resulting free kick just 10 metres out gave the home side chance to charge at the Colne defence. Carnforth got the result they were after and crossed over to level the score.
Breaks from both teams were forcing some big hits at the tackle. Carnforth were looking strong and made some good runs, but Colne have been excellent in defence this season and this was no exception as Callum Kinnane seemed to take it all in his stride. The closing stages of the half saw Colne edge ahead as Tindall slotted over a penalty to lead 8-5 at the half.
Colne came back after the break with a similar start to the first half, and again the pressure turned the game in their favour as Carnforth fumbled the clearance, which the All Blacks duly capitalised on by using the pace of the back line to make a speedy counter attack and score in the corner again for an eight-point lead.
Carnforth narrowed the gap to five with a penalty a few minutes later as Colne were reduced to 10 men when Aaron Denton was sin binned.
With Colne down to 14, the defence had to work harder to keep the strong home side at bay, but a solid scrum from Carnforth gave them a chance to level the score with just minutes to play.
Colne had to dig deep if they were to take home the points, and again good forward possession allowed them to test the home defence as the ball was passed first to one side of the pitch then back across, eventually finding the hands of Connor Kinnane who found the gap and cruised over, giving Colne the all-important lead.
As always the home side didn’t take this lying down, and in the closing stages came close to scoring, but resilient defence from Colne kept them at bay to take home the four points.