Well we did take the lead! Challenge Cup review
By Rogero
March 22 2021
It was live on BBC i player, West Wales Raiders did take a 4-0 lead, Widnes did have two men sin binned and West Wales Raiders had a men sent off and played the majority of the game with 12 men. As a season opener it was full of talking points and the high profile debutants would have ensured a healthy bumper crowd in normal times but in the end Widnes ran out winners by 58 - 4 and their class showed after a poor start which saw the Raiders take full advantage in the early stages. Stebonheath looked superb and the pitch like a billiard table.
West Wales Raiders (4) 4 - Try: Naulisala
Widnes Vikings (28) 58 - Tries: Grady, Tyrer (3), Cross, Owens (3), Spedding (2), Lawton: Cons: Owens (7)
Gavin Henson said after the game - "I think we started well, we were competing with them, finishing our sets, but losing a man killed the game for us. But it's our first game of the season, emotions are running high and these things happen. I learned a lot, it's the first time I played the game. I watched it, but there's nothing quite like playing. It's so relentless, it's non-stop. I need to get fitter basically. I think I did all right, I just couldn't offer much because it was a very tiring game. We'll take a lot out of it, it was like a training game in the end and the main thing for us is the league, and we've got six weeks before that starts
West Wales Raiders: Phil Cowburn, Uraia Naulusala, Jamie Murphy, Marcus Webb, Emosi Nadaubale, Gavin Henson, Rangi Chase, Tom Morgan, Daf Phillips, Morgan Allen, Mike Conner, Joe Burke, Morgan Evans. Interchanges: Ash Bateman, Eparama Boginsoko, Sam Herron, Fraser Stroud.