Unfortunately, it seemed a few were not used to rugby etiquette and the shouts and banging on advertising boards as Sam Heron went  for a late kick, which could have won the game, embarassed home officials.

However, West could not argue with a result which sees Cockermouth go into the last 16. It was a battle of the packs for a large part pf the game with what running rugby there was coming from the West backs. When they were able to cut loose it mostly came from the back three fielding  kicks in their own half.

West did go into an early lead. At the first scrum the pack was driven backwards at some rate,  but Jay Corbett showed what he could do by picking up and forcing his way through three defenders give his side a 7-0 lead.

West's scrum improved,  but so did the resolve of the home pack which constantly thwarted West's attempts to build a solid platform. The visitor's cause was not helped by the number of penalties being awarded against them - at one stage there were ten in a row.

Not surprisingly, Cockermouth full-back Daniel Woodcock reduced the arrears with one successsul attempt on the quarter hour, but it was West who led 7-3 at the break.

After a frustrating first half West looked livelier from the restart and top try scorer Max Tennant finally had a chance to add to his tally only for play to be stopped for crossing.

Cockermouth cleared and Will Hilditch was unlucky when a kick bounced awkwardly in front of him - all he could do was stick out a boot to kick the ball into touch. From the line-out Ollie Webster was yellow carded for coming in at the side of the maul. The kick to the corner producing the home side's first try from a rolling maul giving them a one point lead.

With the game finally opening up Tennant did get his try. Advantage was being played for a high tackle in front of the Cockermouth posts with skipper Ryan Painter opting for a kick to corner, which was gratefully collected by the left winger. Heron's touchline conversion was wide.

Back came the home pack with another close range try to regain the lead. And they did it again a few minutes later when West were judged to have  obstructed left winger Frazer Murray as he chased a kick down the wing. The penalty to the corner settihg up the catch and drive to take the score to 20-12.

Chasing the game West finally started to spread the ball on a big  pitch - the regulation maximum size. It paid off when full back Matt Siddle came in to the line to combine with Davy Heckles to create space for Tennant to go in again. Heron's conversion  bringing the margin back to just one point.

With Lewis Scott on for the injured Ollie Connolly, West continued to look for the winning score, and it looked like it  might have come wth that penalty attempt three minutes from time. It was 25 metres out, wide on the left and into the breeze  .... and it was just wide of the left hand post.

Cockermouth were in no mood to offer any more chances, but did knock-on at the base of the final scrum in their own half.  Unfortunately,  it wasn't spotted by the Ref and West's last chance was gone, much to the delight of the home support who celebrated long and loud.

So no longer a prospect of a  Twickenham final in a competition which, in its first year, has attracted a lot of criticism and a lot of walk-overs - some of them even on the day of the game. But there were two enjoyable, if expensive, trips to Manchester and Cockermouth, which the players said were their two hardest games of the season.

West may even get the chance to play Cockermouth again next season. They have been told they are one of the runners-up being asked to move up to level 6, and they could well be playing in Regional 2 North with West.

It's also not quite the end of competitive rugby. The Stags, who lost 19-52 in a friendly against a Sunderland "A" team containing quite a few first teamers, will be in next week's Pyman Cup Final. They will take on Hartlepool II's at Mayfield Park after Old Boys beat Horden 36-22. Unfortunately their first team couldn't travel to Wigton in the Papa Johns Plate competition - that resulted in a few Wigton  supporters coming across to Cockermouth and opting to cheer for West.

Cockermouth: Daniel Woodcock, Daniel Fielden, James Sewell, Shane Cusack, Frazer Murray, Edward Gate, Mark Watson, Adam Brough, James Hunter, Tom Peet, Anthony Davies, Ryan Hetherington, Alex Butterfield, Ben Irving, Michael Stephens.

Reps (all used): Ian McDowell, Luke Armstrong, Oliver Gray.

West: Matt Siddle, Will Hilditch, Davy Heckles, Ollie Connolly, Max Tennant, Sam Heron, Ryan Painter, Jack Angus, Aidan Jackson-Smith, Adam Hutchinson, Ollie Webster, Will Corbett, Alex Barker, Chris Atkins, Jay Corbett.

Reps (all used); Charlie Kay, Lewis Scott, Tim Blades.

Tries: Jay Corbett, Tennant (2).

Cons: Heron (2)

Yellow :Webster.

Referee: Ciaran Trainor (Cumbria).