Salford Red Devils 22 Hull KR 52 Match Report
For exactly an hour the Salford Elite Academy side matched their Humberside visitors, set for set, point for point, tackle for tackle, which, considering the make up of the team, was a remarkably good performance, especially against a club as high-flying as the east Hull club is proving at the moment.
Just as had been the case the previous week, with the Reserves, so too, this Academy side had a somewhat makeshift look about it, being comprised of four trialists and six players still in their first year, alongside the remaining regular, second year, team members.
Not that that you would have realised that, watching the way they set about their task of first containing, and then periodically overcoming, their much-vaunted opposition, despite falling behind in the seventh minute to a try in the left corner, after two back-to-back sets on the Salford line.
It took a mere six minutes, however, for the Red Devils to nullify this score, which they did with an attack down their left flank, that ended with winger, Sam Hill’s end-of-set, kick-in-goal, being touched down, close in, by stand-off Rhyley Hyde.
Hyde’s successful conversion ensured that the Reds took the lead, and on twenty minutes, drew even further ahead, when Sam Littler exploited an extra set of possession, as a result of a Robin’s hand playing at the ball, and he crossed, over to the left, to take the score to 10-4.
That this was never going to be a straightforward encounter, with one team in control throughout, became evident, on 31 mins, when a careless Salford knock on at a scrum, led directly to a Robins’ try in the right-hand corner, straight from the reformed scrum awarded to the visitors.
A further try, in the opposite corner, in the dying seconds of the half, was enough to give the Hull side, a slender, two-point lead, of 10-12.
The dominance that the visitors had built up was continued on the resumption, with an early six-pointer, on 42 mins, but the Salford players regrouped, dug deep, and stuck manfully to their task.
Two magnificent try saving tackles on their right edge, in the 44th and 47th minutes not only prevented further Rovers’ tries, it served as a platform for them to launch their own attacks, which turned the game back in their favour.
As quickly as the 51st minute, slick handling by the backs, straight from the scrum, put winger, Mason Riley, over in the right-hand corner, which Hyde superbly converted from the touch line, to bring the Red Devils back to within two points, at 16-18, and their lead was restored, four minutes later, when Hyde intercepted a Robin’s pass and sped the full seventy-metres, out pacing all would-be defenders, to score under the posts. His simple conversion, put Salford 22-18 ahead.
Unfortunately, this was as good as it was to get. The players had given all they had, in order to keep within reach of their opponents, and whilst they were able to keep them at bay for a further five minutes, once the Rover had drawn level, on 60 mins, they were able to follow their unconverted try on the right with further scores, against an exhausted and drained defence, to give the final scoreboard a rather unfair and unflattering reflection of the game.
Coach, Danny Barton, was, nevertheless, extremely proud of his charges’ efforts throughout the first sixty minutes.
“There were many positives to enjoy throughout the majority of the game, especially against such a high-quality team as KR.
“Unfortunately, we not only were down on players, we also had to play people completely out of position, with centres playing in the forwards, so they were unable to keep their resilience against bigger opponents going for the full length of the game. This is clearly an area that needs strengthening.
“The quality of the rugby we produced from the start was really goods, and with our offloads the visitors found us a real threat, and we kept in competition with them for the biggest bulk of the game.
“Our senior players, in particular, deserve a special mention for taking the lead, and turning in great performances. Rhyley Hyde was quite outstanding, and Raffa van Osselaer and Sam Hill contributed greatly. That first try was an absolute joy to watch, with everything going just right.”
SALFORD
Van Osselaer, Riley, Briffa, H Smith, S Hill, Hyde, Jenkinson, Eden Johnson, Clarke, Littler, Dillon, J Walker
Interchanges: Buckley, Bradbury, Smith, Green
