Victoria Rangers 36, Wibsey Warriors 16

A STUNNING two-try burst from hooker Isaac Brown shortly before the close of the first half put Victoria Rangers en route to a comprehensive home victory against Wibsey in the opening round of the Andrew Bennett Memorial Trophy.

The Vics were first on the scoreboard when centre Damian Smith crossed with ease as the ball was shipped wide at speed.

But the Warriors quickly hit back as utility man Brad Tattersall burrowed his way to the sticks from acting half, leaving centre Steve Redman with a simple conversion.

The visitors should have increased their tally directly from the kick-off when stand-off Lewis Barrett collected to race clear but the chance was lost when he decided to hang on to the ball, ignoring a man outside who had a clear path to the whitewash.

The mistake was forgotten shortly afterwards when Redman spotted a chance on the blind side to crash over in the corner and add the conversion himself.

But Rangers hit a purple patch bang on the half-hour mark when full back Jordan Walker joined the line to make the extra man for the overlap and stand-off Josh Hattie ensured full reward.

Brown came into the frame when he skipped his way to the chalk – and was to the fore once more when he picked up a loose ball to race 60 metres to plant the ball under the uprights. Hattie added his second goal to put the hosts into the sheds 20-12 up.

Wibsey took the game to the Vics on the restart through their impressive second-row pairing of James Mann and Danny Macdonald.

But Rangers clearly had the bit between their teeth and went further in front when substitute Martin Southwell sprinted through after collecting a neat Hattie offload.

Smith proved his strength and determination by taking six defenders with him for a try in the corner, then switched from poacher to provider with a clever underhand pass to put wingman Carl McGuigan in at the same spot.

Hattie finished off the total with two more conversions before the Warriors provided the last hurrah when Mike Batty ran hard and true past the corner flag for the final try in what had been a rousing cup tie.