Woolston Rovers Under 18s made a successful start to their 2018 season with a very good victory at Halton Farnworth Hornets in the BARLA National Cup on Sunday morning.

Rovers were very clinical in the first half and built up a commanding advantage but to the Hornets credit they came out in the second half and put Rovers under pressure for long spells to get themselves back into the game but the extra experience in the Woolston side came to the fore as they regained their composure to see the game out and progress through to the last sixteen.

First half tries for Jake Bray, Will Ridge, Ben Moore and Ross McGlone plus one conversion from Jake Eccles saw Rovers go into the interval with an 18-0 lead but then in the second half Farnworth replied with a couple of quick tries, one converted to narrow the gap to eight points but a try from Tom Gaskell calmed any nerves and ensured that Rovers moved through with a 22-10 success.

The Man of the Match was awarded to Rovers stand off Dec Leonard on his debut; he was very well supported by Jake Eccles and Kieran Jones.

After the game Rovers Under 18s coach John Morris said, “That was a great way for us to start the season; we looked very sharp, especially in the first half, and I was delighted with each and every one of the lads. It is always nice to get off to a positive start and we can now look forward to the next round with confidence.”

ROVERS U18s

Jake Bray, Kieran Jones, Ross McGlone, Tom Gaskell, Will Ridge, Dec Leonard, Jake Eccles, Owen Hazlehurst, Kieran Moore, Jacob Proudlove, Todd Preston, Callum Harnett-Smy, Sean Millington.

Subs: Ben Moore, Henry Davidson, Joel Irvine.