Cumbria County Rugby League’s Les Ashe says he couldn’t be happier as head coach after his side started their Tri-Counties Championship with a dominant 42-16 win over Yorkshire.

Cumbria led 16-10 at half-time and, despite Yorkshire levelling the scores early in the second half, the hosts took over and scored a further six tries in the last 20 minutes.

“I didn’t see that coming to be honest,” Ashe said.

“We’re very happy as a coaching group, our execution at certain stages was excellent and the lads played some good rugby.

“Our half-backs guided us round the park really well and there was some great go-forward from the pack.

“All the lads on debut didn’t look out of place either.”

Cumbria are now set to take on Lancashire on Sunday and the winning side will lift the Tri-Counties title.

With no training session planned for this week, Ashe is hopeful that facilities can be found for a Captain’s Run on Sunday morning.

“We’re in talks with Workington Town head coach Phil Veivers, who lives in Lancashire, and he’s trying to help us identify a facility we can use on the morning,” Ashe continued.

“We’ve got some gas left in the tank and I’m sure the players will be ready for the game on Sunday.

“It’s about turning up on the day with the right mentality.”

Ashe, who is head coach of Seaton, was also proud of Tom Curwen’s performance as the Rangers prop forward picked up the Man of the Match award on Sunday.

“Out of the 34 players on the day, including the Under-19s, Seaton had five representatives in the sides,” he continued.

“It’s fantastic for both Tom and Liam [Wood] to be selected.

“Liam played really well and Tom’s contribution was massive, so it was a proud day for myself.”