Last gasp try gives Midlands Hurricanes first ever Championship win in thrilling back-and-forth encounter
A last-gasp try helped to give Midlands Hurricanes a landmark first ever win in the second tier of British Rugby League amid a game full of drama.
A gravity-defying dive into the corner by Matty Chrimes and a nerveless touchline conversion by Lewis Else brought the Hurricanes their first win of the league season, but only after a game where opponents Doncaster came back from a 16-0 deficit to lead with four minutes to go.
The Dons visited Avery Fields looking to get their second win of the Championship season, but it was the Hurricanes, emboldened by a record win the weekend before, who struck first, with Luis Roberts touching down in the corner after five minutes.
It was Roberts who extended the lead in the 14th minutes, finishing off a flowing passing move, before Lewis Else scored with a trademark jinking run, then converted his own try for a 16-0 lead.
Doncaster didn’t give up working and, following a scrum for a knock on inside the Hurricanes half, Edene Gebbie scored in the corner on the stroke of half time to make the score 16-4.
The Dons then came out stronger in the second half and Reece Lyne further reduced the deficit following another scrum and a six-again offence set.
Despite a poor start, Midlands Hurricanes rallied when, following a knock-on from the kick off by Doncaster, Ryan Johnson broke a couple of tackles to power over to make the score 20-8.
However, through a mixture of a few handling errors, as well as clever halfback play, the Dons scored three tries in nine minutes.
First, Muizz Mustapha went in just to the left of the sticks, then Cory Aston gathered his own grubber kick, before the stand-off gathered a loose ball on the Hurricanes five metre line and raced clear to score under the posts.
Despite battering the Hurricanes goal line, including forcing two goal-line drop outs, the Dons couldn’t find a way through as the Hurricanes tackled fiercely, roared on by the home fans.
Those same fans were on their feet with four minutes to go when Lewis Else made a run to the left and gave Matty Chrimes the chance to score in the corner, a chance he took with a spectacular one-handed dive, before Else, who was struggling to see out of one eye, nailed the conversion from the touchline.
It was a game full of twists and turns and plenty of drama and marked Midlands Hurricanes first ever win at Championship level, a win well-received by everyone at the club.
The club are in action next on Sunday, February 8 when they travel to Keighley Cougars in the third round of the Challenge Cup.
Midlands Hurricanes
1 Todd Horner
2 Matty Chrimes
3 Ryan Johnson
4 Ross Oakes
5 Luis Roberts
6 Danny Craven
7 Lewis Else
8 Jon Luke Kirby
14 Brandon Moore
10 Tyler Dickinson
20 Toby Warren
12 Oliver Roberts
13 Mikey Wood
Subs (all used)
9 Aiden Roden
15 Elliot Morris
17 Kieran Moran
28 Isaac Shaw
Tries: L Roberts (5, 14), Else (29), Johnson (48), Chrimes (75)
Goals: Else 3/5
Doncaster
1 Tom Holmes
18 Edene Gebbie
3 Brad Hey
4 Reece Lyne
23 James Clover
6 Cory Aston
24 Watson Boas
8 Brad Knowles
9 Greg Burns
25 Gadwin Springer
12 Alex Sutcliffe
22 Luis Johnson
30 Muizz Mustapha
Subs (all used)
16 Pauli Pauli
19 Connor Jones
21 Tyla Hepi
27 Titus Gwaze
