Hunslet Hawks 46-12 Barrow Raiders
All is forgiven after last week’s disappointing showing against York after the Hawks booked their place in the fourth round of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup with a ruthless and disciplined dismantling of fellow league one promotion rivals Barrow.
Nerves were jangling in South Leeds after both sides suffered early exits from the iPro cup last week. Prior to kick off Hawks’ coach Matt Bramald spoke of Hunslet needing to improve in many key areas, namely minimising handing errors and making sure they completed their sets. The message certainly got through to his charges with the Hawks storming to victory at a canter with a performance which surely bodes well for the upcoming season.
There were a number of stand out performers for Hunslet, namely the half back pairing of Brown and Ansell and the wing partnership of Mufaro Mvududu and Richie Barnett, but one area of concern for the Hawks’ faithful could be impressive full back Jimmy Watson who left the field of play on the hour mark.
Hunslet hit the front on thirteen minutes through wing man Richie Barnett diving over in the corner for the first of his two tries. They extended their lead on 21 minutes when scrum half Danny Ansell side stepped his way through the Barrow defence.
Barrow showed glimpses of what they can do, especially when they dared to throw the ball around. On 27 minutes got a deserved try back through stand off Josh Ward after a free flowing attacking move which saw the ball pass between the hands of 5 barrow players.
But their hard work was undone on 31 minutes when impressive Hawks centre Mufaro Mvududu broke through the Barrow defence and raced fully fifty metres before handing over to Jimmy Watson who crossed between the sticks for the first of his two tries. And that try seemed to take the wind out of the visitors’ sails as the Hawks scored their fourth through Matt Carbutt on 35 minutes, who crossed with barely a Barrow player near him.
The second half began in scintillating fashion for the Hawks with full back Jimmy Watson rounding off an impressive attacking move which involved Simon Brown and second row James Normington. Brown was again involved for the Hawks’ next try after a 40-20 kick gave the Hawks the field position required for Richie Barnett to cross in the corner for his second try of the afternoon. The Hawks hit the forty point mark on the hour through half back Danny Ansell finishing a fine move which involved second row Ben Crane.
Barrow managed a consolation through centre Chris Hankinson on 68 minutes but it was Hunslet who rounded off a highly impressive afternoon’s work with Lewis Reed scoring just moments before the final whistle.
The draw for the 4th round of the Ladbrokes challenge cup takes place on Tuesday night and on the strength of this showing no side will relish facing the resurgent Hawks.
Final score: Hunslet Hawks 46-12 Barrow Raiders
Teams:
Hunslet Hawks: Watson, Agoro, Duckworth, Mvududu, Barnett, Brown, Ansell, Haley, Lee, Reed, Crane, Normington, Williams. Subs: Flanagan, Bell, Carbutt, Thomas.
Barrow Raiders: Fieldhouse, S Toal, Hankinson, Wiper, Pitman, Ward, Campbell, Bullock, Mossop, Wilkes, Harrison, Crellin, Aspinwall. Subs: Abram, Duerden, D Toal, Dawson.
Referee: T Grant
