A SUNNY afternoon in the Cumbrian sunshine proved to be a profitable one for Northwich.

In what was their first visit to Keswick, they were able to run eight tries past the league's bottom side and record a 52-12 victory to bring maximum points back to Cheshire.

The promising run of form continues for Martin Poste’s men – a fifth consecutive victory allows them to further climb the North One West table as they now sit fifth.

If anything, a weekend off has come at the wrong time for Blacks as their confidence continues to grow.

Carrying the ball with ambition and purpose, Blacks’ first try followed a well-organised lineout as fly-half Nick Baldwin crossed the whitewash before adding the conversion himself.

However, it was not until the final 10 minutes of the first half when the visitors really took control as they ran in three unanswered tries.

First, openside flanker Chris Dale profited from smart work off a scrum between himself and number eight Sam Naylor, who was also involved in Chris James’ score out wide.

Then, a move that started from deep in Blacks’ own half and involved almost the whole team was finished off by lock Patrick Fray.

Baldwin added two conversions as Blacks turned round for the second half with a healthy 26-0 lead and a bonus point in the bag.

There was a rally from the hosts after the restart as they scored in the corner to ensure they were not kept scoreless, but that only served to spur Northwich on.

They hit another purple patch – man of the match Naylor’s break and a perfectly-timed pass from centre Tom Wood released wing Tom Husbands to score a try that was quickly followed by a second effort as he collected Baldwin’s cross-field kick to touch down.

Baldwin added his second try and converted himself and although Keswick were able to score again via a counter-attack, it was Northwich that fittingly had the afternoon's final say as excellent work by blindside flanker Matt Ensor led to a try for wing Shaun Burmah.

Blacks are not in action this weekend, with their next fixture seeing them welcome Stockport to Moss Farm on Saturday, November 9, kick off 2.15pm.

Northwich: Mike Bradshaw, Chris James, Mark Thompson, Chris Heywood, Patrick Fray, Matt Ensor, Chris Dale, Sam Naylor; Matt Poste, Nick Baldwin; Tom Husbands, Scott Davidson, Tom Wood, Shaun Burma, Joel Barber. Subs: Jan Cartman, James Woods, Mike Gough