Hunslet Match Report

Bears rediscover their fighting spirit

Hunslet RLFC 40 Coventry Bears 16

South Leeds Stadium, Sunday.

Match report by Mike Hyde

Yes, the Bears lost another game up in the heartlands of Rugby League, but this wasn’t a one-sided walkover for the team challenging for promotion in fifth place.

The Bears, in common with other clubs, have been on the receiving end of some high winning scores over the past few weeks, but the margin at the South Leeds Stadiumwas the second closest of Sunday’s League 1 games.

Bolstered by two Hull KR players, who are with the Bears under a Dual Registration agreement with their parent club, the Bears showed more of their customary grit from the kick off.

Although they found themselves six points down within the first five minutes, it was one of those players; Joe Caitor who grabbed a try on his Bears debut after 8 minutes.

The two sides then slugged it out at both ends and ironically it was on a sustained Coventry attack that the ball was lost andHunslet’s David Foggin-Johnston scooped it up and ran the full length of the field.

He scored a second try a few minutes later, but then the Bears ‘never-say-die’ attitude kicked in as Paul Emanuelli crafted a neat kick. Chris Barratt pounced on it for Bears second try of the afternoon and this time Ben Stead added the conversion, giving a respectable half time score of 18-10.

The Bears defence was caught off guard just twominutes intothe second half as Nathan Chappell crossed the line, with Sanderson successfully converting.

But the Bears were not about to give in, as James Mason scored a try in reply and Stead again converted, putting the score at 24-16 midway through the second half,  with the two teams appearing evenly matched.

However that was to prove a high water mark for the Bears as the Home side scored two tries with the game still ten minutes away from its conclusion.

But still the Bears wouldn’t surrender and they fought hard to get back into the game. However in a copy of what had happened in the first half, Nathan Chappel intercepted the ball on a Bears attack and ran the full length of the pitch to seal the game at 40-16.

The travelling Bears fans went away proud of their team, who had provided stiff competition for their opponents. and a resilience which will hopefully serve them well in the second half of the season.