Bears 50 West Wales Raiders 18 - Betfred League 1, Round 15

A DEVASTATING second half from the Coventry Bears saw them put the West Wales Raiders to the sword.

At half time, the sides were locked at 14-14, but the hosts found their feet after the break scoring seven tries to mark their final home game in style.

Reece Rance and Nathan Hill both scored twice for the Bears, who also saw Hayden Freeman, Kieran Sherratt, Kieran Hudson, Liam Welham, Matty Welham, and Dave Scott all cross the whitewash.

The visitors competed well in the opening period, bagging tries through Phil Cowburn, Jack Uren and Aedan Coleman, but by the time David Evans wrapped up their afternoon the game was long gone.

The hosts opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a pacy attack down their right edge, before they floated a long pass to the opposite corner for club record scorer Freeman to finish.

The Raiders hit back five minutes later with a spectacular score; Callum Mulkeen hit the line at pace, before throwing a delicious, no-look offload to Cowburn, who scored.

The Bears steadied themselves and struck next. After forcing a repeat set 20 metres from the Raiders line, they quickly shipped the ball right for Rance to dive in.

Things calmed down for ten minutes or so, before the visitors edged themselves back in front - Uren thinking quickly on the final play to scuttle over from dummy half.

After a minor scuffle over, frankly, not a lot, the Bears regrouped and patiently worked up the field, culminating in Sherratt crashing over.

Right on half time the Raiders bagged another - Coleman powering through to draw his side level.

Then came the turnaround as the Bears finally clicked. And, when they did, the tries started flowing.

First, Newcastle loanee Hudson rampaged his way to the line, bursting through a number of would-be tacklers to score.

Five minutes later they were in again, this time Hill crashing over.

The same man further extended the hosts’ lead in the 54th minute, taking a high pass well to bag his second of the afternoon.

With David Evans in the sin bin for dissent, the Bears pulled further away with the most deserved score of the afternoon; their captain Liam Welham took the ball on a smart angle and powered in under the posts.

Not to be outshone by his older brother, Matty Welham added his own try two minutes later in similar fashion - hitting the line at pace then strolling in.

By now, the Bears were on a roll and crossed the whitewash again moments later. Matty Welham broke the line, before slipping the ball inside for Scott to finish and really punish the Raiders sin-binning.

Even with the visitors back to 13, the Bears couldn’t be stopped. Rance bagged his second with ten minutes to play, sprinting home after Sam Bowring made a wicked ball steal.

Evans made some amends for his sin-binning with four minutes left by scoring in the corner, but it was little more than a footnote.

MATCHFACTS

COVENTRY BEARS

3 Matty Welham

5 Hayden Freeman

1 Nathan Hill

4 Liam Welham

23 Reece Rance

6 Dave Scott

7 Dan Coates

22 Brad Clavering

9 Chris Cullimore

8 Peter Ryan

25 Jack Dawson

16 Sam Bowring

12 Kieran Sherratt

Subs (all used)

10 Kieran Hudson

13 Ryan Langton

18 Brad Sheridan

20 Delaine Bedward

Tries: Freeman (4), Rance (14, 70), Sherratt (31), Hudson (44), Hill (49, 54), L Welham (62), M Welham (64), Scott (66)

Goals: Coates 5/10

WEST WALES RAIDERS

1 Phil Cowburn

19 Alan Pope

15 Ashley Bateman

21 Aedan Coleman

5 David Evans

31 Will Ramsey

23 Fraser Stroud

27 Osian Phillips

25 Jack Uren

16 Sam Herron

13 Morgan Evans

30 Callum Mulkeen

12 Joe Burke

Subs (all used)

18 Charlie Bodman

2 Craig Lewis

20 Shaun Tennant

10 Harry Boots

Tries: Cowburn (9), Uren (27), Coleman (40), D Evans (76)

Goals: Ramsey 1/4

Sin bin: D Evans (57, dissent)

Man of the match: Liam Welham

Penalty count: 6-3

Half-time: 14-14

Referee: Michael Smaill

Attendance: 280

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 8-6, 8-10, 14-10, 14-14, 20-14, 24-14, 28-14, 34-14, 38-14, 44-14, 50-14, 50-18