Skolars almost produced a second consecutive upset but were denied victory by a late try from the Cumbrians.
Having lost just one game in the league this season, the early stages of the game looked good for the home side as Chris Smith took advantage of a Whitehaven kick that ricocheted off a Skolars’ leg to touchdown after just three minutes.
A fine tackle close to the line by Aaron Small denied Craig Calvert what looked to be a certain try, but Skolars started to compete, with Jermaine Coleman making a welcome return from injury playing along his brother Jy-Mel for the first time.
After forcing Haven into a goal line drop out, Saqib Murtza went close before Austen Aggrey barged through with Dylan Skee adding a conversion. A deep kick and strong chase saw Haven have to drop out. Skolars had a good chance for a second but Michael Brown’s pass out of a tackle went to ground.
At the other end great tacking saw Andrew Beattie lost the ball over the line. Max Wiper also crossed the line but from a forward pass and it remained 6 all at half time.
The second half saw a repeat of the good start for Haven with Scott McAvoy scoring. But Skolars enjoyed a long period of attack and after good work from Aggrey and Cariern Clement-Pascall, Skee’s long pass found James Anthony who put them back into the lead, Skee again converting.
Skee played for Whitehaven for two seasons and almost scored what might have been the winning try, cutting inside to create a gap, only to be penalised for an obstruction as he accidently ran behind Sam Gee.
Haven scored in the corner, but missed the conversion to leave them just two points ahead with eight minutes remaining. Another Haven old-boy went close when Ade Adebisi hacking a loose ball down field, following up on a chip kick from Gee. Adebisi raced to the tryline, but the ball rolled over the dead ball line just before he reached it amidst mixed emotions from his local fan club.
Skolars earned a bonus point, but had the 300 mile journey back to consider how close they had come to victory.
A noteable inclusion in the Skolars lineup was Jermaine Coleman, making his comeback from a serious knee injury. This was the first time Jermaine and his brother Jy-mel (pictured above – Jermaine on the right) had played together.
WHITEHAVEN
38 Andreas Bauer
5 Loz Hamzat
33 Max Wiper
3 Danny Eilbeck
2 Craig Calvert
6 Lewis Palfrey
32 Carl Rudd
34 Matthew Haggerty
14 Chris Smith
10 Howard Hill
35 Lee Doran
4 Scott McAvoy
17 Andrew Beattie
Subs (all used)
9 Carl Sice
23 Paul Cullnean
26 Luke Isakka
22 Reece Fox
Tries: Smith (3), McAvoy (42), Hamnat (72)
Goals: Palfrey 1/3
LONDON SKOLARS
3 James Anthony
18 Aaron Small
35 Michael Brown
17 Dave Arnot
5 Ade Adebisi
6 Jy-Mel Coleman
7 Dylan Skee
25 Austen Aggrey
9 Gareth Honor
22 Saqib Murtza
37 Jaroslaw Obuchowski
15 Olly Purslow
19 Jermaine Coleman
Subs (all used)
32 Sam Gee
27 Cariern Clement-Pascall
8 Tony Williams
13 Stephen Ball
Tries: Aggrey (17), Anthony (62)
Goals: Skee 2/2
Penalty count: 12-6
Half-time: 6-6
Referee: George Stokes
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 10-6, 10-12, 14-12
A noteable inclusion in the Skolars lineup was Jermaine Coleman, making his comeback from a serious knee injury. This was the first time Jermaine and his brother Jy-mel (pictured above – Jermaine on the right) had played together.
