London Skolars 32 - 16 Rochdale Hornets

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Hornets mascot, Hercules

Rochdale Hornets slipped to third place in the Kingstone Press Championship 1 table after a poor display at a windy New River Stadium on Sunday.

London raced into a 10-0 lead inside nine minutes as James Anthony scored in the right corner and Dylan Skee went behind the posts.

Once they got the ball, Hornets showed what they could do.

Wayne English nearly went over  but Anthony forced him to lose the ball as he stretched for the line.

A minute later, Hornets forced an error and Jordan Case finished off the move with a barnstorming run for a try. Paul Crook added the extras.

Strong approach play by Mike Ratu punched a hole in the London line and Case went the last 20 metres with pace and power. This time, however, Crook missed the conversion to leave the score at 10–10.

Danny Davies was denied a try by the touch-judge, who ruled a forward pass.

London regained the lead when Martyn Smith squirmed over from dummy half after Rob Thomas had been stopped just short.

Two minutes after the restart, English spoke out of turn and Skee kicked a 20-metre penalty.

It was the shape of things to come as Hornets would be penalised seven times more – 12 overall.

Skee then kicked 40–20 and gave London great position and Andy McLean spotted a gap in the middle of the Hornets’ defensive line.

As he dotted down the ball, English again vented his feelings this time at his non-tackling team-mates.

London’s poor defensive record gave Hornets hope of a comeback, but Hornets couldn’t find chinks in their defensive armour.

That was until the 66th minute when Mike Worrincy lost the ball and Martin Waring sprinted 70 metres for a thrilling try, which Crook improved.

However, that was as good as it got for the Hornets at Skee kicked a penalty from the half-way line with four minutes to go.

A minute from the end Steven Roper limped off leaving Rochdale with 12 men, all their interchanges having been used.

And to end a miserable afternoon, Joe Price added a converted try in the corner, after the final hooter, to send Hornets home pointless.

Rochdale coach Ian Talbot said: “I don’t think we ever got started today. We weren’t at the races for large parts of the game. But it was a very messy game and it didn’t flow.

“We did consider kicking a 40-20 with the wind at our backs, but our forwards were making big yards.

“I don’t think anyone played well today – from 1 to 17. We were all very disappointing, though Jordan Case was good and strong in the first half.

“Our discipline let us down badly. Almost all of the London scores came off penalties.”

The result means Hornets clash with North Wales Crusaders next Sunday is now a must win if the Hornets want to keep their championship ambitions alive.

Supporters need to contact the office by Wednesday if they wish to book on the supporters travel.

Scorers:
London: Tries: Anthony 4, Skee 9, Smith 37, McLean 49, Price 80; Skee 6/7.

Rochdale: Tries: Case 15, 19, Waring 66; Goals: Crook 2/3

Teams:
London Skolars
1 James Anthony
2 Smokie Junor
4 John Paxton
3 Joe Price
5 Ade Adebisi
26 Andy McLean
7 Dylan Skee
13 Oliver Purslow
34 Jermaine Wray
10 Dave Williams
27 Sam Wellings
15 Jaroslaw Obuchowski
12 Michael Worrincy
8 Rob Thomas
9 Martyn Smith
16 Louis Robinson
30 Michael Sykes

Rochdale Hornets:
1 Wayne English
2 Gareth Langley
23 Dave Hull
22 Mike Ratu
17 Martin Waring
6 Paul Crook
7 Steven Roper
12 Dane Donoghue
31 Chris Hough
10 Warren Thompson
28 Matty Crow
13 Jordan Case
29 Carl Foster
5 Dominic Speakman
11 Chris Baines
16 Danny Davies
8 John Cookson

Referee: Tom Crashley
Half-time: 16-10
Penalties: 12-8
Attendance: 409
Match Rating: 4/5