FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 22 DEWSBURY RAMS 0
(Match abandoned after 40 minutes)
CHRISTIAN LEE, Millennium Stadium, Saturday
A LOCALISED power outage plunged the Millennium Stadium into darkness and forced the half-time abandonment of Featherstone’s match against Dewsbury.
Power at the stadium went off midway through the first half and the club were forced to call the pre-season game at the break, when the home side led by 22 points.
Early tries from Gadwin Springer and Connor Wynne gave Rovers a commanding early lead and they continued to dominate their lower-league opposition with later scores added by Ben Reynolds and Jayden Hatton.
The floodlights, as well as other stadium lighting and the electronic scoreboard, first failed with approximately 15 minutes of the first half to go, but the fading early-evening light was still enough for the rest of the half to be played out.
Then at half-time, amid murmurs of speculation from the home crowd, a stadium official announced the abandonment of the fixture.
On social media, Rovers stated: “Unfortunately the match has been stopped early due to a local power outage in and around Featherstone this evening.
“With no clear timings on when power might be returned, the match has been abandoned.”
Prior to the outage, Featherstone were looking set to continue their promising pre-season form following their 40-6 victory in midweek over newly-professional Goole.
Springer barged over from close range following a Dewsbury handling error and, directly from a scrum minutes later, a slick set play created space for Connor Wynne to streak away down the wing to get Rovers’ second.
The home side continued to pressure the Dewsbury line as the half wore on and eventually Reynolds extended Featherstone’s lead when he dummied to spread the ball wide before palming off a would-be tackler and diving over.
Just shy of the half-hour mark, Hatton crossed for what turned out to be the final try of the contest in the fading light. The Dewsbury defence had scrambled well to stop a break on the right but they had no answer as the ball was spun wide to Hatton at left centre who bounced off his opposite man and touched down.
James Ford was able to hand debuts to new recruits Derrell Olpherts and Carlos Tuimavave, however, he was unable to provide minutes for a number of players on his extended bench, including trialists Max Rhodes and Dan Clark.
The attention of both sides will now turn to the Challenge Cup second round as results over the weekend confirmed their opposition. Rovers will take on Oldham’s Waterhead Warriors, while the Rams face a mouthwatering local derby against Dewsbury Moor.
GAMESTAR: Ben Reynolds’ experience shone through in the first half as he led the new look Featherstone attack around the pitch and even forced his way over for a try of his own.
GAMEBREAKER: This section has never been so aptly named as the lights going out broke the game and forced the abandonment of the second half.
MATCHFACTS
ROVERS
1 Caleb Aekins
18 Derrell Olpherts
33 Carlos Tuimavave
12 Jayden Hatton
2 Connor Wynne
6 Ben Reynolds
5 Calum Turner
8 Gadwin Springer
15 Will Jubb
10 Jimmy Beckett
11 Josh Hardcastle
22 Toby Boothroyd
20 Clay Webb
Subs
9 Connor Jones
32 Robson Stevens
27 Jordan Williams
14 Thomas Lacans
4 Zach Herring
13 Bailey O’Connor
26 Jonny Openshaw
29 Max Rhodes
30 Dan Clarke
Tries: Springer (4), Wynne (7), Reynolds (22), Hatton (29)
Goals: Reynolds 3/4
RAMS
1 Charlie Harris
2 Tommy Brierley
3 Caelum Jordan
4 George Senior
27 Tom Delaney
26 Paul Sykes
6 Dan Coates
19 Jack Briggs
9 Sam Day
10 Toby Everett
14 Luke Mearns
15 Keenen Tomlinson
16 Louis Collinson
Subs
31 Jack McShane
23 Will Shaw
25 Louie Walker
18 Jamie Field
17 AJ Boardman
13 Dec Tomlinson
24 Dale Ferguson
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Rovers: Ben Reynolds; Rams: Tommy Brierley
Penalty count: 3-1
Half-time: 22-0
Referee: Kevin Moore
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0, 16-0, 22-0
