Rangers short in big comeback bid

OUTJUMPED: Saddleworth’s Mitch Trothe is beaten to the ball.

RUGBY: 

SADDLEWORTH Rangers left themselves with a little too much to do after threatening to make an extraordinary comeback against Pilkington Recs in Division One of the Kingstone Press National Conference League.

The game looked over for Craig Farrimond’s team when Merseyside club raced to a 28-0 lead before half time at Shaw Hall Bank Road. Dale Lowe’s try at least put Rangers on the board at the interval, but at 34-6 down to a side ranked fifth in the division, things looked bleak.

But Farrimond’s men fought back, registering 18 unanswered points through tries from Phil Wood, Josh Bradbury and Jack Bradbury, with Ben Whitehead converting all three times to make it four goals on the afternoon. The visitors responded with two more converted scores.



WATERHEAD’S season continues to stall as the side now propping up Division Three went down to a 74-2 hammering at Hunslet Club Parkside.

The Peach Road outfit — who drop to bottom courtesy of Gateshead Storm’s 18-16 win at Eastmoor — could only gather 14 players and suffered the consequences of the shortage of players, heading into the second half 44-0 down.

Another 30 points followed in the second period, with Waterhead’s only scores coming through a pair of late field goals from Jamie Mayall and Terry Fitzgerald at 68-0 in arrears.