THE clear, blue winter sky and rare winter sunshine beckoned players and spectators alike on their trek up the M6 for the next Cumbrian encounter against the unknown quantity that is Penrith.

Walking from the car park to the club no longer cossetted by car heaters and a brisk wind coupled to bring the temperature barely above freezing.

A full-sized and well-kept pitch surrounded by a mass of sponsorship boards and large covered stand paled into insignifcance when compared with the clubhouse.

Penrith have spent some £600,000 to rebuild their clubhouse and changing facilities, funded by disposal of some agricultural land and lottery subsidy, is a testament to what junior rugby in the North can achieve.

The hospitality from Penrith president Dave Walker, his committee and members both before and after the match would put the vast majority of the senior clubs to shame.

Penrith lie second in the table with a playing record of played nine, won seven, drawn one, lost one and had scored not far shot of 300 points prior to this match.

They have obvious aspirations to a higher league and on last Saturday's showing it would be a brave man who bet against them.

For the first 20 minutes it was hard to believe that such a gulf existed between the teams in the league. Bury, fuelled by adrenalin and, it has to be said, desire, enjoyed nearly all the territorial advantage.

Penrith's first incursion into the Bury 22 was a mazy run by the left wing who had outflanked the cover and was coasting in for a try until Nick Smithson, doing what all good No 8s do, corner-flagged and dragged him down seven metres from the line.

Bury were awarded a penalty almost immediately, but took the wrong option and instead of clearing to touch, attempted a quick tap. The receiver was faced with no option but to try and clear to touch from the base of the ruck, but this was charged down and a goal resulted.

The opposition were to score two more tries in the first period, the first of which was an extremely good effort by the Penrith right wing who outstripped the cover with pure pace.

The second coming ironically from a charged down kick when Bury were attempting to clear to touch.

Bury turned some 19 points in arrears, but the ultimate scoreline is not perhaps a true reflection of their first half efforts.

Immediately from the restart Penrith pressured Bury, but some excellent tackling, particularly from the likes of stand-in centres Freschini and Fawcett, normally to be found in the back row.

As it got progressively colder fitness levels started to take their toll. The Bury machine was slowly running out of gas and Penrith were to give no quarter.

In the last 25 minutes of the match they were to rack up a further seven tries, three of which were converted.

Talk's cheap, but before people descend into a pit of despondency, a fair appraisal of the Bury team should be made. Struggling as they are, blame can not be placed at the door of individuals.

Even the team of last season, playing at their best would not have beaten Penrith. They were well-drilled and had progressed through their youth development programme.

The nett result is a fit, organised team with quickness of mind and action. Bury can learn from this, though a painful experience, it forms part of the learning curve on the way to better days.

Derek Heath and his band of helpers, both current players and those who no longer turn out, are bringing on the youth of Bury RUFC, fielding sides ranging from under nine to under 16 and with regular attendances on Sunday mornings in excess of 80 this will form the basis to allow the club to progress.

The current team, we would hope, will leave them a legacy that we are still competing at our current league status.

BURY: Smyth, Whitehead, Holland, Roberts, Kennedy, Westwood (c), Smithson, Lawton, Livesey, Leeming, R Wardle, Freschini, Fawcett, McGarraghy, Robinson. Replacements: Dixon (for Holland, 53 mins). Not used: McDougal.