Cougars 66, Barrow 6 - Cougars ran rampant to celebrate their Centenary in style.

On and off the pitch it was a great afternoon for the club, with memories of the club's golden years shining through.

Players from every decade from the 1930's took to the field at half time, and the current team did them proud with a vintage performance which will be recalled when today's young fans ring in the next centenary.

But the performance was more than just an echo of former glories.

They ran in 12 tries and it could have been more as they turned on a sparkling show of champagne rugby -- and left the Barrow boys with a king-size hangover.

It was not just a good victory, more a complete rout of the Raiders.

Before the kick-off Barrow were just two points behind the Cougars in the league table, but were made to look completely out of their depth.

Martin Wood again orchestrated the victory, behind a pack that was making huge yardage he had acres and acres of space to direct his troops.

He ran in the first try in the 10th minute when he followed up a neat break by the incisive Nathan Antonik. He also landed the first of his nine goals, then sent Ian Hughes over with the next attack.

Even at 10-0 the Cougars looked awesome going forward, and the next try soon followed, Dean Hanger dancing through three shoddy tackles to touch down.

He's rapidly becoming a favourite with the fans - from so often being the scourge of Cougar Park - he now patrols it as if he has been there all his life.

The fourth try was a cracker. Wood broke from half way, found Hughes on his inside and the big back rower made it ten tries for the season.

Jason Lee had been the busiest man on the team defensively, but took his half-chance superbly when he collected a poor kick to race 80 metres downfield.

Barrow hooker Jamie Marshall showed a real turn of speed to catch him, but from acting half Antonik sent Steve Pickles diving over to make it 26-0 at the break.

If anything the Cougars stepped up a gear after the break, particularly after Barrow scored their solitary effort in the 48th minute, Mike Whitehead crashing through the gap behind the ruck. Darren Holt converted.

By then Keighley had already extended their lead, Lee racing 40 metres upfield after taking a lovely inside pass from Graeme Hallas.

The Barrow try really fired the Cougars up. They killed the game as a contest with three tries in seven minutes, an immediate response.

Super-sub Paul Owen arrived from the bench to jink over for two, Danny Seal got the other with consummate ease diving over from acting half.

There was then a bit of a lull as errors crept in on both sides, but the Cougars finished with a bang, three tries in the last 11 minutes mercilessly punishing Barrow's woeful defending.

Owen set up a second for Pickles, before Antonik finished off a complex move in which Wood had been involved twice, and supplied the final pass. In the dying seconds Alan Boothroyd and Danny Seal combined superbly in midfield to send Hallas over for his first Cougar try.

The only disappointment on a fine day for the Club, on and off the field, was the size of the crowd.

Although over 2,000 saw their heroes sparkle in the spring sunshine - and Barrow brought no more than a couple of dozen fans - there are hundreds of Cougar supporters who are missing the birth of another great era at Lawkholme.

Cougars: Hanger; Tomlinson, K Smith, Hallas, Lee; Pickles, Antonik; Hall, Seal, Boothroyd, Harrison, Hughes, Wood. Subs (all used): Owen, Walker, Stephenson, Thompson.

Barrow: Maybon; Hutton, Smith, Mogorian, Okul; Manihera, Holt; Whiter, Marshall, Jackson, Whitehead, Luxon, Carter. Subs (all used): Massey, Atkinson, Rawlinson, Rigby.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.