Cougars are outpaced

This was an action replay of the previous week's defeat - a Cougars side hopelessly outsized and outpaced with just one thing going for them - enthusiasm.

Rovers were their own worst enemies and perhaps did more to keep the score down than Cougars did.

They bombed three early chances, were undisciplined - the penalty count was 10-3 in the Cougars' favour - and their normally reliable goalkicker Chris Charles had an off day, landing only three of eight goal attempts.

Even former Cougar Nick Pinkney made some early un-characteristic handling errors.

Yet they scored eight relatively comfortable tries, capitalising on the Cougars huge error count - 18 in all.

Rovers opened the scoring in the 12th minute, Charles taking an inside ball to stroll over and then adding the conversion.

But Cougars roared back, and not for the first time Danny Fearon was the key, his inside pass unlocking Rovers' defence to send James Rushforth through.

He drew the defence before cleverly putting Simeon Hoyle over. Adam Mitchell's kick levelled the scores, but it was a false dawn for Cougars.

Rovers stepped up the pressure to run in four tries before the break. Craig Murdock, on his return to Cougar Park, ran the show for 38 minutes until he was flattened by Lee Kelly.

Before then, though, he had finished off two sweeping Rovers moves with tries and had a hand in Paul Fletcher's try in the 33rd minute. Alasdair McClarron went over in the 39th minute to make it 24-6 to Rovers at the break.

The Cougars started the second half brightly and thought they had got themselves back into the match when Paul Ashton - on for the struggling Mitchell - put Matthew Steel over, only for the try to be disallowed for a forward pass.

Rovers then had a try disallowed before Cougars did get a big boost with Ashton pouncing on a smart kick from Matt Firth to touch down.

His conversion made it 24-12, but any ideas Cougars had of making a revival were soon swept aside as McClarron scored a try from nothing to swing the pendulum back in Rovers' favour.

He was followed over by Jon Wilkin and Fletcher with Charles adding a third conversion before Dane Dorahy's 75th minute drop goal completed the scoring for the visitors.

To give Cougars the credit they deserve, they certainly don't lack motivation and battled right to the final hooter.

They scored two late tries when the game was clearly gone as if to prove their spirit.

Another smart kick ahead from Firth brought a try for Rushforth, who had looked dangerous all afternoon, and then in the dying seconds Fearon's kick was collected by Ashton, whose long pass sent Steel over for a thoroughly deserved try for the 17-year-old.

Cougars' biggest problem was around the ruck, and while they have only Phil Stephen-son and Chris Hannah of any size, they will be unable to compete for more than half an hour against top eight teams.

Take Stephenson off and the floodgates open - or so it seems anyway.