CORNWALL 6 WHITEHAVEN 78
JORDAN WEIR, Memorial Ground, Sunday
TWO players crossed four times as Whitehaven ran in 14 tries, eleven of them converted, against depleted Cornwall, who used only 15 players.
Captain and fullback Jordan Burns, who also landed three goals from three attempts, and Mason Lewthwaite, a close-season secondrow signing from Kells, each scored quadruples as Anthony Murray’s men made the 468-mile journey from Cumbria worthwhile.
Eight tries came within 40 minutes, meaning the match was over as a contest by the break.
The game started evenly, but once Burns scored the opening try on the right after Whitehaven were gifted a fresh set by an infringement at the ruck, the floodgates opened, even if former Cornwall back Cameron Brown couldn’t convert.
The visitors went over five times between the 14th and 25th minutes.
Burns got on the end of a Jack Newbegin break, Jordan Thomson found the line, Lewthwaite grabbed his first following a break by Thomson, then turned provider for Ethan Bickerdike to crash over, before Burns claimed his third after good work by Jay Weatherill.
Brown added the extras to four of them, meaning his side were averaging more than a point a minute.
The half-time hooter couldn’t come quickly enough for Cornwall, who shipped two more tries before it sounded.
Mitchell Todd, who moved into the centres as winger Henry Hadfield made his debut, was on the end of a left-to-right passing move and sidestepped Decarlo Trerise before grounding.
Then Lewthwaite benefited from backing up another break by Weatherill, who tagged on the two.
There was little relief for Cornwall in the second half, with two further Lewthwaite tries in the first four minutes.
He pierced a broken defensive line before rounding Max Lambourne to notch under the posts, then finished following a well-worked passing move between Aaron Turnbull and Newbegin. Weatherill goaled both for a three-from-three return.
In the middle of those two scores, Cornwall had Dylan Leney yellow carded for a high tackle.
Whitehaven continued to look dangerous, and forced their way across the whitewash three more times before the hour.
Weatherill and Ellison Holgate got on the scoresheet either side of a second for Bickerdike. Connor Holliday converted the first of those before Burns slotted over the extras for the next two.
The home side stuck to their guns and a short kick-off paid off for them when after 63 minutes, Adam Rusling was the quickest to react when Holgate couldn’t clear a grubber. The try-scorer added the conversion.
However the final word went to Whitehaven as Burns crashed over from short range before adding the two.
GAMESTAR: Mason Lewthwaite. The secondrower has been in and out of the team, but was devastating at times and crossed four times.
GAMEBREAKER: Whitehaven’s five tries between the 14th and 25th minutes.
MATCHFACTS
CORNWALL
11 Max Lambourne
5 Mackenzie Cumming
16 Decarlo Trerise
24 Kyle Jacobson
21 Henry Symonds
27 Ben Dean
25 Adam Rusling
19 Josh Rhodes
26 Nathan Conroy
10 Harry Boots
13 David Weetman
12 Darcy Simpson
17 Elijah Simpson
Subs
22 Jake Lloyd
6 Dylan Leney
18 Kyle Marvin (not used)
23 Callum Abbot (not used)
Tries: Rusling (63)
Goals: Rusling 1/1
Sin bin: Leney (42) – high tackle.
WHITEHAVEN
1 Jordan Burns
5 Jay Weatherill
4 Ethan Bickerdike
32 Mitchell Todd
2 Henry Hadfield
7 Jack Newbegin
20 Cameron Brown
10 Jordan Thomson
14 Luke Collins
8 Jake Pearce
11 Connor Holliday
15 Mason Lewthwaite
13 Jack Kellett
Subs (all used)
9 Ellison Holgate
18 Aaron Turnbull
16 Brad Brennan
21 Ellis Nixon
Tries: Burns (9, 14, 25, 66), Thomson (18), Lewthwaite (20, 39, 41, 44), Bickerdike (23, 57), Todd (31), Weatherill (51), Holgate (59)
Goals: Brown 4/7, Weatherill 3/3, Holliday 1/1, Burns 3/3
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 0-16, 0-22, 0-28, 0-32, 0-36, 0-42; 0-48, 0-54, 0-60, 0-66, 0-72, 6-72, 6-78
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Cornwall: David Weetman; Whitehaven: Mason Lewthwaite
Penalty count: 3-5
Half-time: 0-42
Referee: Denton Arnold
