01 March 2020

Featherstone Rovers put on a show in the capital as they dispatched London Broncos 34-10 at Trailfinders Sports Club in a game that saw eight different try scorers. The two sides went into the fixture in good form, both were undefeated in the Betfred Championship. However, London suffered defeat against York City Knights in their most recent Coral Challenge Cup fixture. Tries from James Harrison, Ben Blackmore, Jack Bussey, Craig Hall, Louis Jouffret and Josh Hardcastle were more than enough for Rovers, who put in their strongest performance of the season to date. It was a rampant start for the visiting side, who scored in the opening ten minutes when Harrison was able to latch onto a high pass from Callum McLelland and battle his way over to give his side the lead. Once again, McLelland was the provider when the Leeds dual-registration youngster zig-zagged his way through the London defence and found Blackmore on the left wing, who managed to score in the corner. Rovers were well in control in the first-half, their defensive sets were solid as the hosts tried to get back into the game and they regularly gained good yards moving forward. Then they were rewarded on the brink of half-time when Bussey smashed his way through four Broncos’ defenders and managed to get himself over underneath the sticks, giving Featherstone a comfortable lead at the break.

Seven minutes into the second period the hosts’ Guy Armitage was sent to the sin bin for dissent and with London down to twelve men, James Webster’s men ran riot. Firstly, Hall managed to break through a gap in the Broncos’ line with a brilliant run and score. Then Jouffret scored an almost identical try just four minutes later. The Frenchman then turned provider as he found Hardcastle, who had plenty of space to break and give Rovers a 34-point lead. Tries from Ogden and Pelissier only turned out to be consolations for London, who ended a tough afternoon with a defeat at the hands of the Rovers.