Featherstone Rovers 56

Woolston Rovers 0

IT took Featherstone Rovers just 13 minutes to wipe out any hopes of a dream Challenge Cup shock at Post Office Road on Sunday.

They were 10-0 up and it was all one-way traffic in what could hardly be regarded as a 'dream' Woolston performance.

The Woolston boys, top of the National Conference League, did not do themselves justice against the Division One outfit with an inept, bumbling first half display that saw them capitulate to 30 points adrift.

Head coach Vinny Webb said afterwards: "I don't know whether or not the lads were overawed out there but no player applied himself in that first half.

"We came in at half-time and discussed what we should have been doing and what we hadn't been doing and for the start of the second half we showed more of what we can do."

The first quarter in the second period was certainly Woolston's purple patch. They put Featherstone under constant pressure, were breaking tackles and brought the teams to a level plain.

It was something of an injustice that Featherstone broke the deadlock with a breakaway try down the left flank while Woolston's winger John Welch was sidelined to put in a new contact lens.

This sparked new life into Featherstone and and they crashed four more tries past a wilting Woolston in the last 17 minutes.

Webb said: "I am not saying we could have beaten them if we had played the whole game like we had done in the early part of the second half but it would have been a much closer contest.

"As it was Featherstone did not get as tough a game as they were expecting and that is disappointing."

For Woolston, second rower Timmy Iddon impressed and made some hard yards down the middle on a day when Woolston's props were struggling.

Centre Karl Taylor, winger Welch and substitute forward Neil Hyde had strong second halfs while Mark Wallington looked dangerous on the wing when he got the ball.

Featherstone's outstanding players were hooker Richard Chapman, prop Asa Amone, who played in the three-quarters with Halifax last season, plus second rower Danny Baker, who grabbed a hat-trick of tries. For some unknown reason Featherstone scrum half Ty Fallins was announced as the man of the match.

Featherstone's try scorers were Baker, 3, Karl Pratt, 2, Paddy Handley, 2, Richard Newlove, younger brother of St. Helens centre Paul; Shaun Irwin, Craig Jackson, Richard Slater. Scrum half Fallins kicked six goals out of 11 attempts.

Woolston: Livett; Carter, Bell, Taylor, Wallington; G. Smith, Kelly; Shephard, Quarmby, Foster, Iddon, Harris, Jude. Subs: Martin, Welch, Horrigan, Hyde.

Featherstone: Collins; Horne, Irwin, Newlove, Stokes; Handley, Fallins; Price, Chapman, Amone, Padgett, Baker, Evans. Subs: Pratt, Lowe, Slater, Jackson.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.