DONCASTER 30 FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 42
DAN FOWLER, Eco-Power Stadium, Sunday
SUPPORTERS of defence, look away now!
Featherstone triumphed in a topsy-turvy Championship encounter in South Yorkshire, boosting their play-off credentials at the expense of Doncaster.
Ryan Hampshire and Ben Reynolds were vital to the Rovers effort, backed by a powerful forward pack, whilst Edene Gebbie and Connor Robinson were the live-wires in a Doncaster side that just didn’t know when they were beaten.
A piece of magic from Hampshire broke the deadlock after 12 minutes. Spotting a gap in the Doncaster defence, he put the burners on before chipping over the top of Craig Hall to touch down. Reynolds converted with the travelling Rovers faithful still revelling in what they had just seen.
Paul Cooke’s side doubled their advantage moments later, making the most of territory handed to them via a penalty. A cross-field kick from Hampshire was fumbled and Derrell Olpherts was there to pick up the pieces. Reynolds, with a tougher assignment than his first, was on the money from the touchline for a 0-12 lead.
As the half-hour mark approached, Featherstone extended their advantage to three scores with a Reynolds penalty goal – leaving Doncaster in desperate need of a response.
They got just that with seven minutes of the first half remaining, when Watson Boas jinked and jived before passing to Logan Moy, who dotted down with Olpherts for company. Robinson converted.
A frantic end to the first half occurred as both sides added to their tallies. First, a scrum play saw James Glover go over untouched for the visitors.
A kick out on the full from Hall followed, but Rovers couldn’t find touch with their penalty, allowing the Dons one more attack and they made the most of it with the aforementioned Hall supporting a Gebbie break to score against his former side. With Reynolds hitting the post with his conversion attempt and Robinson nailing his, a finely poised second half awaited with Featherstone six points up.
And they came out of the blocks firing, with two tries in the space of as many minutes. Nathan Wilde’s barnstorming run and deft offload for Jubb was a perfect combo for the hooker to go in.
Following that, another profitable set with the forwards laying the foundations for an attacking kick bouncing perfectly for Glover and the linchpin Reynolds did the rest. Two Reynolds goals regained Featherstone’s three-score lead.
Doncaster were in familiar territory, needing the next try. Once again, they got that when Hall’s unorthodox kick was perfect for Robinson to ground. A quick conversion made it game on.
With the influential Hampshire off the field with an injury, Featherstone knew they had to dig deep.
They were certainly helped in that regard as a defensive lapse in concentration – with Doncaster looking for the ref’s whistle – meant Connor Jones had an easy score. Reynolds converted.
So now it was an 18-point gap with time not on the Dons’ side. Game over? Not quite. Quick-fire tries from Pauli and Moy meant the deficit was cut to six with ten minutes remaining. With the crowd having a big dose of adrenaline, the belief in a comeback was clear.
However, a knock-on from Boas in the next set killed the Dons’ momentum.
When Glover completed his brace by touching down a Reynolds grubber late in the piece, it was well and truly game over.
GAMESTAR: The way Ben Reynolds controlled proceedings after Hampshire’s injury-enforced exit means he just pips his halfback partner.
GAMEBREAKER: James Glover’s second try of the afternoon finally sealed the win for Featherstone.
MATCHFACTS
DONCASTER
1 Craig Hall
19 Logan Moy
4 Reece Lyne
3 Brad Hey
18 Edene Gebbie
24 Watson Boas
7 Connor Robinson
15 Jordan Baldwinson
9 Greg Burns
10 Suaia Matagi
14 Jacob Jones
11 Sam Smeaton
28 Matty Laidlaw
Subs (all used)
16 Pauli Pauli
20 Isaac Misky
21 Tyla Hepi
29 Will Gardiner
Tries: Moy (33, 70), Hall (39), Robinson (52), Pauli (68)
Goals: Robinson 5/5
ROVERS
1 Caleb Aekins
23 Connor Wynne
5 Gareth Gale
29 James Glover
2 Derrell Olpherts
6 Ben Reynolds
28 Ryan Hampshire
16 King Vuniyayawa
9 Will Jubb
10 Jimmy Beckett
11 Brad Day
17 Clay Webb
37 Nathan Wilde
Subs (all used)
8 Gadwin Springer
14 Connor Jones
15 Sitaleki Akauola
21 Jordan Williams
Tries: Hampshire (12), Olpherts (16), Glover (37, 74), Jubb (45), Reynolds (47), Jones (60)
Goals: Reynolds 7/8
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 0-14, 6-14, 6-18, 12-18; 12-24, 12-30, 18-30, 18-36, 24-36, 30-36, 30-42
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Doncaster: Connor Robinson; Rovers: Ben Reynolds
Penalty count: 4-8
Half-time: 12-18
Referee: James Vella