With the scores level at 17-17 in added time, Kendal's scrum dominance earned them a crucial penalty and Stephens held his nerve to land the decisive kick.

It was a fittingly tight conclusion to a game between two sides who had gone into the weekend with almost identical records.

Both had won once in their opening five matches and collected a losing bonus point, with only two points separating their points differences.

An extra try-scoring bonus point had left Kendal two places above Bowdon in the table.

Kendal's previous trip to Bowdon came during the 2021/22 season, when they won 28-11 in wild weather before beating the same opponents 64-14 at Mint Bridge a week later in a rearranged fixture.

There were several changes to the Kendal side this time.

Dylan Douglas replaced the unavailable Matt Houghton in the back row, while Ollie Rose returned at scrum-half after Dev Coyle broke his nose the previous weekend.

Ben O’Halloran remained on the wing, with Chris Rochelle promoted from the Second XV to start at full-back.

Toby Merrick returned to the bench after missing the previous game, where he was joined by back-row forwards Zack Dodds and Greg Jones.

Bowdon's side included former Stockport scrum-half Alex Pantechis, who made five appearances for Kendal during the 2018/19 season.

On a sunny afternoon and an excellent Bowdon pitch, the home side made the brighter start.

Kendal, however, took the lead after 15 minutes.

Zane Butler initially broke down the left but was unable to release Angus Knight in support.

When Kendal recycled possession, Knight got another opportunity and this time powered through several tackles to score.

Stephens converted to make it 7-0.

Kendal made a tactical switch after 25 minutes when Finn Kennedy replaced Joe Anderson.

Bowdon continued to move the ball effectively, while handling errors and inaccurate kicking prevented Kendal from building sustained momentum.

The hosts found gaps in the Kendal defence but struggled to turn them into points as the visitors defended strongly close to their own line.

After half an hour, Kendal were reduced to 14 men when Butler was shown a yellow card for a high tackle.

Despite the numerical advantage, Bowdon were unable to exploit the extra space out wide and instead repeatedly attacked through the middle, where Kendal were able to get numbers into the defensive line.

Bowdon eventually drew level shortly before half-time.

Kendal had initially turned over possession but were slow to support the ball carrier and conceded a penalty.

That provided Bowdon with an attacking platform and a further penalty eventually resulted in a converted try to make it 7-7.

Merrick replaced Alistair Thompson for the start of the second half, and Kendal could hardly have made a better restart.

Bowdon delayed their clearance kick and Oscar Coxon charged it down.

The ball ricocheted towards the try line and remained in play long enough for Coxon to follow up and score.

Stephens added the conversion for a 14-7 Kendal lead.

Bowdon responded quickly, however, as a series of missed tackles allowed the home side through for their second try.

The conversion was missed, leaving Kendal narrowly ahead at 14-12.

Dodds then replaced Douglas before Kendal extended their advantage.

A short Bowdon lineout failed to find its intended target and Kendal seized possession.

The visitors attacked and, after the referee played a lengthy advantage, Stephens eventually kicked the resulting penalty to make it 17-12.

Further changes followed, with Jones and Dan Shorrock replacing Patrick Woltsenholme and O’Halloran.

Anderson and Thompson also returned in place of Kennedy and Merrick.

Bowdon drew level again after half an hour of the second period.

A break down the left resulted in their third try while the referee was already playing advantage for a high tackle.

The difficult conversion was unsuccessful and the scores were tied at 17-17.

As Bowdon began to tire, Shorrock threatened repeatedly down the left, making several strong runs before being hauled down by the home defence.

The game moved into added time with a draw appearing increasingly likely.

Kendal nevertheless produced one final attack.

Stephens saw the Bowdon defence rush up to close off his passing options and instead attacked the gap himself.

When he was stopped, he found Rose, but the pass was ruled forward.

It appeared Kendal's final opportunity had disappeared.

Instead, the visitors' scrum provided the decisive moment.

Kendal had endured some pressure in the scrum earlier in the second half, but with their pack now in the ascendancy they drove Bowdon backwards and forced the infringement.

The referee awarded Kendal the penalty.

With the match resting on his kick, Stephens made no mistake and the final whistle followed immediately.

Kendal had secured a dramatic 20-17 victory.

Scrum-half Rose was named Kendal's man of the match.