Josh Charnley scored a try and kicked three goals to help England Knights overcome plucky Cumbria 26-12 in Whitehaven.
Plucky hosts put up a fight against England's second string
Josh Charnley scored a try and kicked three goals to help England Knights overcome plucky Cumbria 26-12 in Whitehaven.
The Knights followed up their impressive 38-18 win over France at Leigh Sports Village with another victory, though Keiron Purtill's men were made to work hard for their success at the Recreation Ground.
The Cumbrians, who held the senior England team to an 18-18 draw a year ago, stepped in to fill the breach caused by the cancellation of Samoa's tour of the UK and performed with credit throughout.
They trailed only 4-0 at the break too, Leeds centre Zak Hardaker scoring the solitary try in the first half when he went over after 26 minutes.
Injury blow
England's second string were dealt a blow just before the interval when they lost Rhinos back-rower Chris Clarkson to injury.
However they doubled their lead within five minutes of the second half when Luke Gale started and finished a flowing move, the Harlequins half-back taking skipper Joe Westerman's pass to touch down.
Charnley kicked the first of his three goals to make it 10-0 but Cumbria struck back when skipper Kyle Amor won the race to a loose ball, Darren Holt's conversion cutting the deficit to just four points.
The Knights gave themselves some breathing room again when Hull KR centre Kris Welham scored a 40-metre interception try on 64 minutes.
His Rovers team-mate Liam Watts also got on the scoresheet, going over from close range to finish off a sustained spell of pressure on the Cumbria line.
The home side did manage another try from Leeds forward Brad Singleton, the England academy captain, which was converted by Liam Campbell.
However, England had the final say in the last minute when Gale engineered an opening for Charnley to score his third try in two appearances for the Knights.
