13 February 2022

Rovers weathered the storm to make it three from three in the 2022 Betfred Championship. Workington held their ground early on, Brandon Pickersgill looked a shoe-in at the corner only to be bundled into touch by the Workington defence.  Rovers suffered an early setback as halfback Bayley Gill was forced to retire from the game in the fourth minute. The breakthrough came in the seventh minute, Jack Bussey crashing through from short range from a flat pass from stand in half back Matty Wildie.  Hall added the conversion despite the whirling wind and rain. An ingenious piece of play from the returning Gareth Gale set up the second try, a quick pick-up and kick through from the winger was pounced on by Brandon Pickersgill to put the Rovers two tries ahead.  The touchline position and the weather made Hall’s attempt at goal almost impossible. Gale turned from provider to scorer just before the break, he collected a fumbled Workington ball and raced to the corner for a third Rovers try.

Workington came out firing in the second half, a deft kick early in the tackle count from the Workington half was carried by the wind and grounded by Curtis Teare.  Oscar Thomas added the conversion for Workington. Rovers went close on several occasions, the pressure finally paying off as Junior moors put Matty Wildie through a gap, having drawn in the fullback Wildie dispatched the ball to the supporting Connor Jones who had little to do as he sprinted in for the score.  Hall added the extras against the wind. With only ten minutes left on the clock, John Davies saw yellow for allegedly tripping after a completed tackle.  Workington capitalised on the man advantage and scored in the corner to set up a tense finish.  Minutes later, stand in captain Jack Bussey put the game beyond doubt.  Ten meters out, Connor jones distributed the ball from dummy half to Jack Bussey who sold the Workington defence on a show and go to run through unopposed.  Hall added the conversion from close range to bring the scores to 10-26.