Challenge Cup first round results
Wigan St Pats came out on top over Leigh Miners in a dramatic Challenge Cup First Round tie in front of the BBC Sport cameras.
Streamed live on the BBC Sport website for the first time, Wigan St Pats’ Jack Winnard had the honour of scoring the first-ever broadcast try from the Challenge Cup first round, with James Ratcliffe converting for a 6-0 lead on 17 minutes.
St Pats suffered a setback as Mike Scrivens was sin binned by referee Scott Mikalauskas on the half hour mark, and the hosts took advantage when former Widnes Vikings academy player Jack Reynolds set up Mick O’Boyle.
Jonny Youds added a penalty goal on the stroke of half time to level the scores at the break, though Pats got back in front on 51 minutes as Danny Ryding muscled his way over to make it 10-6.
However, the impressive Reynolds darted over close to the posts, Youds adding the goal, to put Miners 12-10 up going into the final quarter.
But St Pats had the final say.
After Miners had a try disallowed which would have sealed the game, the visitors stormed upfield, Scrivens breaking from half way to set up Phil Mitchell, who steamed over for the winning try on 74 minutes, Ratcliffe adding the extras.
North West Men’s League champions Haydock stunned Cumbrian outfit Wath Brow to seal their progress to round two.
Sitting four divisions apart, St Helens-based Haydock finished 42 places behind their National Conference League Premier Division hosts last season, but made light of their status as big underdogs with a superb performance 133 miles away from home.
It proved to be a good day for their fellow St Helens-based sides as, joining giant-killing Haydock, Thatto Heath eased past Skirlaugh 30-10, while Pilkington Recs‘ 18-hour round trip to Aberdeen Warriors proved fruitful, as they picked up a 62-8 win.
London Chargers, Conference League South champions, took on Welsh premiers Bridgend at London Skolars‘ New River stadium and ran in a remarkable 20 tries without reply.
They were 40-0 up by half time, before coasting home in the second period.
Chargers halfback Phil Lyon proved to be the star of the show, finishing with a personal haul of 52 points, bagging four tries and kicking 18 goals from 20 attempts.
Despite the landslide result, Lyon fell just short of Chris Thorman‘s record 56-point haul, which took place in a 132-0 win for York City Knights against Northumbria University in 2011, but can claim the title of second-highest individual scorer ever in a Challenge Cup game.
It proved to be a double delight for the two London community clubs in the first round, as Chiswick-based Wests Warriors, who were only founded in 2014 and qualified courtesy of their 2016 Harry Jepson Trophy win, triumphed 40-22 against Great Britain Police.
The University of Hull, the University game’s representatives this year, put up a stirring fight against 2016 Challenge Trophy winners Rochdale Mayfield.
Despite three of their leading players being unavailable through University Origin duty, they were in contention until the final ten minutes, but their Ladbrokes Challenge Cup journey came to an end on home turf, losing out 22-12.
Staying in Hull, the big Hull derby between West Hull and Hull Dockers went the way of Wests, winning 24-10.
As North West Men’s League champions Haydock produced the shock of the round, it was a mixed afternoon for their fellow Tier 4 outfits.
Fryston Warriors, champions of the winter Pennine League, are in the round two draw after dismantlng local rivals Normanton Knights 33-10 at home, alongside London RL champions Wests Warriors.
Elsewhere, Yorkshire Men’s League winners West Bowling put in an admirable performance but were edged out 12-0 at home to NCL big guns Kells.
And Cumbria Men’s League winners Distington played their part in a thriller at Featherstone Lions, losing 29-28 against the NCL Division 1 outfit.
With Great Britain Police felled by Wests Warriors at the London triple-header, the British Army, Royal Air Force and The Royal Navy also dropped out of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup at the first hurdle.
The Army travelled up to Egremont and were lost 24-14 against the Cumbrians from the NCL Premier Division, while 12 tries were shared between The Navy and Hull’s Myton Warriors in Portsmouth, with Myton winning 38-34.
And the RAF welcomed York Acorn to Lincolnshire but couldn’t make home advantage count as Acorn rolled to a comfortble 30-12 away win.
Siddal, the reigning NCL champions who will host the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup second round draw on Tuesday at 7pm, were made to work for their progress to the next stage of the cup, squeezing past NCL Division 1 side Milford Marlins 16-4 on home turf.
Finally, BARLA National Cup winners Thornhill Trojans, from NCL Division 2, pulled off a shock of their own, convincingly beating Lock Lane, who were relegated from the NCL Premier Division last season, 32-14.
