In another fantastic weekend of Championship rugby, there were a few shocks, a few classics and some statement wins. But who were the winners and losers in Round 5? Here’s our weekly round up of the Championship results.
The weekend started with a comprehensive win for Leigh who have stepped things up in recent weeks following defeat to Featherstone Rovers in front of the Premier Sports cameras. They continued a run of try-filled wins with a 34-18 win over Newcastle Thunder today.
Star fullback Caleb Aekins scored a brace with Ben Reynolds kicking five goals in a comprehensive win. For the Thunder, Sam Halsall again caught the eye scoring once again.
It was the fourth consecutive game that the Centurions have scored over 30 points and keeps them in touch with the top of the table.
If you thought that was comprehensive, then Sheffield Eagles’ triumph over Workington was more so. They had nine different try scorers in a 54-4 win with Izaac Farrell kicking nine goals in the win. His 100% record with the boot went nicely with his try which gave him 22 points for the afternoon. Former Super League Champion Ben Jones-Bishop also picked up a try for the Eagles as they sent Workington crashing back down to earth after a win in the cup last week.
Elsewhere, Featherstone maintained their 100% start and moved to the top of the league with a 22-12 win over Halifax. After an even first half which saw Halifax lead 6-4 at the break, Featherstone showed the necessary class needed to to pull away for a 22-12 victory with Craig Hall grabbing a brace.
In the game of the day, Jordan Lilley’s drop goal edged a superb clash in West Yorkshire as Bradford beat Batley 21-20. Bulls debutant and Leeds loanee Liam Tindall caught the eye with a superb try.
Batley meanwhile gave as good as they got matching the Bulls three tries a piece but the game went the way of Bradford.
There was another close encounter in the capital with York denying London a first win of the season with a slender 26-24 victory with likes of skipper and former Super League winner Chris Clarkson grabbing a try.
Surprisingly, Whitehaven registered one of the biggest score lines of the day as they thumped Dewsbury 40-12 showing the play-off form they had last year. Perhaps a warning sign to the rest of the league?
Tomorrow the round will finish with Widnes’ battle with Barrow as two unbeaten sides in the league do battle.
Results in full:
Leigh Centurions 34-18 Newcastle Thunder
Workington Town 4-54 Sheffield Eagles
Featherstone 22-12 Halifax Panthers
Bradford Bulls 21-20 Batley Bulldogs
London Broncos 24-26 York City Knights
Whitehaven 40-12 Dewsbury Rams
Warrington Wolves
Watch: Sam Burgess and Richie Myler clash in post-match tunnel incident
