Rovers hosted Billingham Lions (second team) on Saturday in the league, with both sides having made strong starts to the season. Rovers began the day in second place with Billingham just behind in third, and with Billingham’s first team playing in the National Leagues, Rovers knew they would be facing a strong outfit. Added to that, Rovers were missing no fewer than nine players from last week’s matchday squad. Despite all of this, it was Rovers who made the perfect start.

Playing with a strong following wind, Rovers applied early pressure before Lee Burdon picked from a ruck and, with ten metres of ground ahead of him, powered over for the opening try. Lithgo converted to make it 7-0. On seven minutes Rovers doubled their lead. This time Calvert found himself in the backline and proved too powerful for the defence as he scored. Lithgo again converted and Rovers were showing real intent.

On thirteen minutes Rovers were over the try line once more. From a scrum on the Billingham ten‑metre line the ball was moved along the backline. Centre Gunn made good ground, stayed on his feet and managed to offload to centre partner Lithgo. Still thirty metres out, Lithgo fended off several Billingham defenders to score. Unfortunately he couldn’t convert his own try.

Two minutes later Rovers struck again. Billingham were their own worst enemies. The restart was judged to have been knocked on by Rovers, giving Billingham the scrum. Their scrum was solid, but as the backs tried to move the ball wide they knocked on in midfield. Lithgo gathered the loose ball on halfway and sprinted away. With Billingham players chasing him down he picked a perfect pass to the supporting Evans, who had the pace to sprint in and score. A great moment for the young player. Lithgo converted and with fifteen minutes gone Rovers already had the four‑try bonus point and a 26‑0 lead.

Billingham then hit back with a well‑worked try. After several phases they moved the ball wide and squeezed over in the corner. The conversion was missed, but with Billingham playing into the wind, that score might have proved important later. The score stood at 26‑5.

Rovers claimed their fifth try soon after. Billingham were trying to get back into the game by moving the ball at every opportunity, perhaps as a tactic against the wind or simply their natural style. On thirty‑three minutes Billingham attempted to play from deep within their own 22. Their centre tried a speculative chip over the oncoming Gunn, but chipped it straight into Gunn’s hands for a walk‑in under the posts. Lithgo converted and Rovers went into halftime with a commanding 33‑5 lead.

As the teams swapped ends, many supporters wondered whether that lead would be enough now that Billingham had the strong wind behind them. Billingham had tried to move the ball throughout the first half and had several capable players. Large spells of the second half were played in the Rovers half, but resolute defence kept Billingham at bay. They did manage two tries on fifty‑seven and sixty‑eight minutes, bringing the score to 33‑19, and it was imperative that Rovers scored next.

They did, on seventy‑four minutes. A Rovers penalty was kicked to halfway for the lineout. Healy was accurate with his throw to O’Callaghan and Rovers went through the phases. Gunn made yards, Lithgo followed, then the forwards carried strongly. Ten metres out Barfield stepped through two would‑be tacklers to score. Lithgo converted and Rovers’ win was almost certain with the score at 40‑19 and time running down.

Billingham claimed their try bonus point with the last meaningful play of the game, and the conversion made it 40‑26. There was time for the restart, which didn’t go ten metres. After the Billingham scrum the ball was passed to their centre, who knocked on, bringing the game to an end.

Final score: Rovers 40‑26 Billingham Lions.

This was a good win for the Friaragemen. They started with intensity and precision. On a very windy day they used the conditions well when they had them, and their defence was fully committed with players willing to put their bodies on the line. Billingham were a good side and caused Rovers plenty of problems, but Rovers dealt with them comfortably in the end. Attention now turns to next week’s fixture when Rovers travel to Middlesbrough to face another second team, hoping for a similar outcome.