FLYING START FOR FINCHES IN SUPERB ALL-ROUND SHOW.

Workington Zebra Finches maintained their push for the RFU North 2 League title as they came behind from 17 - 12 to pull off a stunning comeback victory against Stockton Rockets.

What made this win even more impressive was that Workington did it with a virtual threadbare squad due to injuries to several key players - indeed there were four changes to the squad from last week's win at Durham City, including Juliet Porter switching from centre to scrum half with Sophie Weir returning to fill in as new centre partner to Caitlin Jenkinson.

The game was switched from Stockton's ground to the all-weather pitch at Billingham due to the weather, but Workington were able to get accustomed to the surface before kick-off and it took only seven minutes for the Finches to strike first when good work by Rachael Wood and Nicole Stewart stretched Stockton before Chloe Pape applied the final blow by racing into the corner for an unconverted try.

Stockton were clearly railed by this and proceeded to launch a plethora of attacks deep into Finches territory that tested their concentration and after banging on the door, the Rockets finally broke through Workington's defence to plunder two tries in seven minutes - the second one converted - to sprint into a 12 - 5 lead with 15 minutes to go.

One of the hallmarks of Workington's season has been not to panic after falling behind by maintaining their belief and on 33 minutes this 1 was rewarded when another well-crafted attack culminated in Juliet Porter thrusting herself over the tryline before Nicole Stewart's first conversion made the scores level at 12 - 12.

Neither team was in the mood to close out the first half with "up the jumper" rugby and two minutes from time it seemed as if Stockton would have the last word when another pass and move play flatfooted the Finches, who were duly punished with an unconverted try.

But Workington's belief neither wavered nor collapsed and bang on the stroke of half-time sucker punched Stockton by taking the lead when Megan Donald found Stewart, who in turn returned the favour to Donald, and she moved up a gear to slalom through empty space to race under the posts for her 12th try of the season. Stewart added the easiest of conversions to give the Finches a 19 - 12 lead at half time.

The second half began brightly for Workington and they came agonisingly close to increasing their lead in the opening ten minutes with two cheeky drop goal attempts by Stewart, both of which saw the ball smack off the post and swiftly taken by Stockton.

But the Finches refused to give up and with Stewart and Porter carving up the opposition with dangerous attacks it was only a matter of time before the lead was increased.

Thus it came to pass on 58 minutes as both players were deeply involved in the attack that was rounded off by Caitlin Jenkinson, who bulldozed her way through to touch down fora well deserved try and securing a bonus point in the process.

Another unconverted try followed three minutes later when Porter added her 2nd of the afternoon when she skipped through the bedraggled Rockets defence who, if they were a boxer would have been well on the ropes, if not quite on the canvas.

Workington had other chances to open more daylight on their opponents - the industrious Porter missed out on a hat-trick when she was tackled just short of the tryline - but they eventually seemed content to protect their lead and settled into containing Stockton's attacking surges.

Any threat of a Stockton try was quickly and uncompromisingly nullified by the Finches, with flanker Beth Adams - outstanding throughout with her drives and carries - in the thick of it with hard-hitting tackles, including the "Champagne Moment" of the match when she cleanly spear-tackled one opponent, winning turnover in the process.

Stockton's anxiety turned into frustration and finally implosion as arguments between players were clearly audible as they had no answer to Workington's efficiency.

The final whistle brought an end to a fantastic performance that was reminiscent of that May Day at Twickenham - then as now, the Finches came from behind and then closed out the game by frustrating their opponents with consolidation.

Special mention goes to Juliet Porter, who was a revelation at scrum half, always driving in hard and making excellent passes - she is another member of the "Flexible Finches Fraternity", able to switch positions at a moment's notice.

Beth Adams bossed it in the back row - especially with her tackling and driving - allied with excellent support from the lively Rachael Wood and captain Charlotte Cammack, who once again called the shots verbally and delivered them physically.

The results sees Workington two points behind unbeaten league leaders Keswick Falcons, but having played a game more, making that clash at Davidson Park on St Patrick's Day very intriguing if it is still close by then.

In the meantime, Workington are back at The Ellis this Sunday for their seventh game in as many weeks as they take on Upper Eden Eagles (Kick Off 2pm).

By John Hastings @ Greenwood Road, Billingham