Vale of Lune 15-5 Kirkby Lonsdale '“ match abandoned

As Cameron lay prone on the pitch covered by both a blanket and a large foil survival blanket, he was a comforted by the physios but because of the concerns centred on a suspected neck injury he was not moved until the arrival of the medical team and an ambulance.

Prior to the halt in proceedings, Vale held a healthy 15-5 lead after coming back from conceding a seventh minute try scored by Kirkby’s centre Dave Barton.

Kirkby were quickly out of the blocks, pinning Vale deep in their own half and could well have established a six point lead but centre Lewis Williams was off target with a couple of penalties, one of which thwacked against an upright.

Vale were not allowed to settle by the visitors who had strength and guile in all departments and they easily brushed aside Vale’s attempts to gain any areas of control.

Kirkby’s non-stop pounding was not reflected on the scoreboard as Vale gradually eased themselves back into what had been a pretty one sided opening.

In the 25th minute, Vale drew level with a try from their record breaking points scorer from last season Damon Hall who was making his first appearance of the season for the cherry and whites.

It was a copybook Hall try, a kick ahead into the red zone and outpacing his opposite number for an unconverted try. Three minutes later hooker Andy Powers completed with efficiency, a slick handling movement, racing through a huge gap for an unconverted try.

With Vale’s Al Crookall in the sin bin, Kirkby launched a number of attacks spearheaded by number eight, David Mako, who was never far from the action throughout.

However, Vale’s defence was less porous and more composed than in the opening 15 minutes and they were able to clear their lines.

As the half drew to a close Powers broke clear but was hauled down, Hall burst down his opposite wing and from a lineout Sam Wallbank, back after his three match suspension, expertly gathered the ball to instigate a crossfield attack that ended with Jordan Dorrington forcing his way over in the right hand corner for another unconverted try.

The second half began at feverish pace with Kirkby very much setting the agenda before the action was curtailed because of the injury in a game where both sides, who are at the wrong end of the table, desperately need to haul themselves clear of the trapdoor.