Coral Challenge Cup 3rd round – 16 February 2020
Barrow Raiders 38 London Skolars 18
It took two late tries for Barrow to finish Skolars’ hopes of reaching the fourth round, after matching the Cumbrian side for most of a hard fought cup game.
With two players dropping out of the squad overnight, coach Jermaine Coleman had to juggle his selections, with Welsh international winger Dalton Grant making his Skolars’ debut in the second row. With a strong wind at their backs, Skolars had an early chance to attack after Neil Thorman’s 40-20 kick, but lost possession early in the tackle count. An uncharacteristic error from Richard Wilkinson when collecting a kick saw Jamie Dallimore following up to score the first try for the Cumbrians.
It looked like Skolars were going to struggle after Mike Greenhalgh was sin-binned for an off-the-ball tackle and Jerome Yates just managed to get a hand to a pass to the wing to deny Barrow a second try, but Skolars went ahead after a Jacob Thomas break on the left. Max Clarke was stopped short of the line but Dalton Grant’s pass to the right wing gave Charles Hammond a try on debut, with Neil Thorman’s sideline conversion giving Skolars a two point lead.
However, Barrow regained the lead three minutes later when Dan Morrow finished off a Dan Toal break. It looked like Skolars had stopped Perry Singleton short of the line on the last tackle, but he managed to offload for Theerapol Ritson to touchdown. After a quick pass from Thorman Jacob Thomas dummied the defence to score under the posts. Thorman’s conversion saw his side go in 14-12 down at the break, but they knew it would be tough against the wind in the second half.
However, Skolars worked hard to stop Barrow after the restart and it took a piece of individual brilliance by Ritson to extend the lead. He collected a high kick twenty metres from his own line moving crossfield as he paced past the defence. He was stopped just short of the line, but Skolars couldn’t complete the tackle and he regained his feet to touchdown.
Once again, Skolars narrowed the deficit to two points after Thorman regathered his own chip kick to score, before adding the conversion. With Skolars regrouping their defence after Grant had gone off injured, Wartova Puaro pushed through the defence. Ryan Duffy barged through four minutes later.
After the game had been postponed last week due to Storm Ciara, Storm Dennis made its presence felt as heavy rain fell and the wind grew in strength. Skolars forced a goal-line drop-out, but Barrow’s kick from their own line travelled the length of the field, leaving Skolars having to drop-out themselves. Luke Cresswell opened a gap for Morrow’s second try, with Dallimore adding his fifth conversion.
RAIDERS
1 Luke Cresswell
5 Theerapol Ritson
3 Declan Hulme
19 Perry Singleton
2 Shane Toal
6 Jame Dallimore
7 Ryan Johnson
8 Ryan Duffy
15 Watovo Puara
10 Carl Forster
11 Jono Smith
16 Dan Morrow
13 Jordan Walne
Subs:
22 Mark Tyson
15 Dan Toal
18 Lee Jowitt
27 Tom Hughes
Tries: Dallimore (14), Morrow (24,80), Ritson (32,47), Puara (69), Duffy (73)
Goals: Dallimore 5/7
LONDON SKOLARS
1 Iliess Macani
2 Jerome Yates
3 Max Clarke
16 Kam Pearce-Paul
12 Charles Hammond
14 Richard Wilkinson
7 Jacob Thomas
8 Matt Ross
9 Neil Thorman
11 Costa Charalambous
5 Dalton Grant
19 Michael Greenhalgh
13 Mike Bishay
Subs:
20 Shay North
17 Julius Hobbs
4 Josh Spearing
24 Ryan Cane
Tries: Hammond (21), Thomas (35), Thorman (63)
Goals: Thorman 3/3
Penalty count: 4-3
Half-time: 14-12
Referee: Brad Milligan
Attendance: 769
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 14-6, 14-12, 20-12, 20-18, 26-18, 32-18, 38-18
