Connor Davies got the better of his twin brother Curtis Davies in a rare battle between the two in the RFL Championship. Connor’s Halifax Panthers beat London Broncos, with Huw Worthington and Matt Ross also in the Broncos side. Mike Butt scored a try for Widnes Vikings but couldn’t prevent defeat at York Knights. Matty Fozard, Rhodri Lloyd, Rhys Williams and Gavin Bennion were also in action for Widnes. Elsewhere, Caleb Aekins played for Featherstone Rovers in their home defeat to Toulouse Olympique XIII, whilst Gil Dudson was in the Oldham side that lost at home to Bradford Bulls.
North Wales Crusaders went to the top of League 1 after beating Whitehaven in Colwyn Bay on Saturday evening. Ant Walker and Paddy Jones both appeared from the bench for Crusaders. Elsewhere, George Birch‘s Newcastle Thunder lost at home to Goole Vikings.
The Men’s Super League saw Finley Yates come off the bench for Salford Red Devils in their home defeat to Leigh Leopards, with Denive Balmforth doing the same for Hull FC in their home defeat to Wigan Warriors.
In addition to playing in the first team, Yates also played for Salford’s reserves side last week. They lost at home to Leigh Leopards, with Joseph Coope-Franklin, Billy Glover and Charlie Glover also in the Salford side. Henry Parker was a winner off the bench for Leigh. Dafydd Morgan made his Super League Reserves debut, playing for Bradford Bulls alongside Lewis Owens in their loss at Wigan Warriors. Sam Grice was in the Castleford Tigers side as they lost at home to Huddersfield Giants. Oliver Garmston was in the St Helens side in their defeat at Warrington Wolves.
In Australia, Harry Hayes was involved in Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs’ loss at Brisbane Broncos, whilst Brittony Price represented Perth City in their annual Anzac Day clash against Perth Kiwis, helping them to a 12-8 win.
In the Women’s Challenge Cup, the semi-finals will be Leeds Rhinos v Wigan Warriors and York Valkeyrie v St Helens for the third year in a row after the favourites all made it through. Dani McGifford was in the St Helens side who beat a London Broncos outfit that featured Kathryn Salter and Emily Hughes. Bethan Dainton‘s Leeds saw off Huddersfield Giants, who fielded Gracie Hobbs. Wigan Warriors, for whom Carys Marsh came off the bench, saw off Cardiff Demons. Cardiff featured 12 Welsh internationals, Meg Whittaker, Lucia Davies, Amberley Ruck, Rhi Parker, Sara Jones, Jasmine Gibbons, Ffion Jenkins, Charlie Mundy, Amy Price, Hannah Jones, Ffion Jones and Katie Carr.
In the WRL Wheelchair Invitational League on Sunday, there were Welsh internationals in both games. North Wales Crusaders’ Harry Jones made history by passing the 1,000-point career mark in his side’s 42-12 success over Swindon St George – the team against which he scored his very first try twelve years previously. Jones’ touchdown – the first of the second half was followed by Martin Turner‘s fourth try. He also scored two goals, with Jess Booth going over for a brace of tries. Jamie Reynolds scored three tries and six goals in Torfaen Tigers’ victory over Cardiff Blue Dragons, with fellow Welsh international Scott Trigg-Turner also registering a hat-trick. Jamie was partnered by his dad Jason Reynolds, whilst Lee Sargent was in the Cardiff side. Torfaen and Crusaders will go head-to-head on Sunday in the double-header at Swindon.
The Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) season started last weekend with a festival and Wales international players were involved. Rhod Davis, Paul O’Keefe, Justin Martin and new international Matt Turner all played for Warrington Wolves, whilst Jon Tranter played for Castleford Tigers.
