LAST week’s Challenge Cup second-round ties featured two scorelines of 110-0, with North Wales Crusaders and Midlands Hurricanes crushing Bedford Tigers and Aberavon Fighting Irish and respectively by that scoreline. 

But those weren’t the only one-sided scorelines.

Of the 16 games played between professional and amateur clubs, ten of them saw the winning side scoring more than 60 points.

Only one game saw the amateur side get close to its professional opponents, with Ince Rose Bridge going down 26-44 to their visitors Swinton. The amateurs were actually winning with an hour of the game gone, but then the greater fitness of the Lions told in the last 20 minutes.

On the other hand, there were two games solely between Championship clubs, with Doncaster defeating Newcastle Thunder by two points and Sheffield Eagles defeating Whitehaven by twelve points.

In the light of the clashes between community clubs and the professionals, we surely have to ask what benefit there is to the clubs and the wider game to see the amateurs being hammered.

And of course we will see another mismatch this Friday night, when Lock Lane from Castleford, one of the strongest community clubs, will travel to Hull KR, almost certainly to be on the receiving end of another big score.

Lock Lane have survived to the third round because they should have played Featherstone in the second, but were given a bye when Rovers couldn’t get to the starting gate for the season.

I’m sure that Lock Lane will take plenty of supporters with them to east Hull and I suspect that their greatest hope will be that their team can score a try against the Super League champions.

But can you imagine what might have happened if Bedford Tigers had been drawn against Featherstone in the second round?

What sort of game would we be looking forward to at Hull KR on Friday night in that case?

The problem is that Rugby League administrators are behaving as though Rugby League is like soccer, which it clearly isn’t.

A couple of years ago, for example, the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Tamworth to play a team that was in National League North, five tiers below them.

Spurs only got through after scoring three goals in extra time, after the score had been 0-0 at full-time.

And this season the FA Cup holders Crystal Palace were beaten by Macclesfield, who also play in National League North.

Results like that couldn’t possibly happen in Rugby League, where the top teams are so much stronger and fitter than any amateur opposition could be.

It was a shame that the second round of the Challenge Cup came a week after the successful opening weekend of this season’s Championship fixtures.

It effectively took away the momentum that had been built up for that competition, with the good news stories that Salford were able to field a team and that London Broncos were making their debut at Wimbledon under new owners.

Unfortunately the game was shooting itself in the foot.