THE Rugby Football League have confirmed that two fixtures which should have taken place nine days ago, and which were listed as 24-0 results by the GameDay agency, were walkovers.
Ince Rose Bridge were waved through against Barrow Island in Group D of the Cross-Conference Play-Offs (CCPOs), while Crosfields conceded to Ellenborough Rangers in the Shield’s Group A.
League Express, meanwhile, listed three other CCPO games as no-results, scores not having been forthcoming from the RFL for Orrell St James v Fryston Warriors (Group A), Kippax Welfare v Bradford Dudley Hill (Group E) and Millom v Drighlington (Group G).
Alan Smith, the RFL’s community game senior administrator, told League Express: “Yes the (24-0 results) were walkovers. The other scores are on the website.”
Quite when those results (Orrell are shown as having beaten Fryston 28-0, the score between Kippax and Dudley Hill is given as 44-0, and Millom prevailed 40-18 over Drighlington) appeared on the RFL’s website is unclear.
However, some light is perhaps shed on the issue by grassroots fan Paul Hudson who told League Express: “I went to watch Kippax Welfare play Bradford Dudley Hill. The referee blew the whistle for full-time with just 65 minutes played. I’d no idea why.
“Later that evening I looked at the results on the BBC Teletext service. The Kippax result wasn’t shown. I looked again the following morning and it was shown, as Kippax Welfare 40 Dudley Hill 0. I think, though, it was 38-0 as two of the conversions slammed against the uprights, one in each half.
“I’ve seen a few games this year where the referee hasn’t had touchjudges. When you follow the flight of a conversion or penalty attempt, if you don’t instantly look away to where the referee is standing you have no idea whether or not he has deemed the kick successful.
“I enjoyed the game. Kippax played well and Dudley Hill never threw the towel in.”
Hudson concluded: “I’ve since found out why the game was brought to a halt early. Dudley Hill travelled with just 15 men and by the 65th minute they had only twelve fit players.”
There were a couple of 24-0 results, meanwhile, last Saturday, Barrow Island ‘losing’ at Thornhill in CCPO Group D and Crosfields ‘beating’ Ellenborough in the Shield’s Group A in a reversal of the previous week’s score.
No result was listed for the Group B fixture involving Hull Dockers and King Cross Park, while there were two 24-0 results in the Cumbria Men’s League.