Rovers welcomed Redcar to the Friarage on Halloween looking to avoid a fright, and they produced a ruthless attacking display to claim a convincing 67-12 victory.

As has become a theme of the season, Rovers flew out of the blocks. Inside the opening minute, a clever kick ahead forced the Redcar full-back to knock on just eight metres from his own line. The resulting scrum provided the perfect platform, with Charters attacking the blindside before drawing the defender and releasing Stephenson. The scrum half repeated the trick, sending Trimble over in the corner for the first try of the afternoon. The conversion drifted wide, but Rovers had an early 5-0 lead.

It was not long before Trimble doubled his tally. After both sides exchanged turnovers, Redcar were perhaps guilty of trying to play too much rugby deep inside their own 22. The ball eventually found its way down the blindside and, with only a couple of metres to work with, Trimble danced his way through the defence to score. The difficult conversion was again missed, leaving the score at 10-0.

Rovers' third try came from an excellent length-of-the-field move. Calvert gathered the restart inside his own half before the ball was moved to Barnfield, whose footwork created space and allowed him to break the defensive line. Maguire took the move on before quick support play and rapid recycling presented Calvert with the scoring pass to finish the move. The conversion was unsuccessful but Rovers were firmly in control at 15-0.

Redcar began to enjoy more possession and territory, spending a spell inside the Rovers half, but after a scrappy ten-minute period the home side secured the all-important bonus-point try. Some slick passing through the backline created space for Trimble to complete his hat-trick in the corner. This time the conversion was successful, stretching the advantage to 22-0.

The hosts added a fifth try shortly afterwards. From a lineout, Charters offloaded cleverly to Lithgo, who immediately returned the favour. Charters still had plenty to do, but the powerful back row showed impressive pace and strength to crash over from outside the 22. The conversion made it 29-0.

To their credit, Redcar showed plenty of character and refused to roll over. Their first try followed a Rovers mistake inside their own 22, leading to a turnover penalty. Opting to keep ball in hand, the visitors built through multiple phases before executing a neat blindside move to score in the corner. The conversion was missed, but Redcar had their first points of the afternoon.

Their second try was even better. After a Rovers penalty was taken quickly and then lost, Barnfield was forced to kick deep. Veteran prop Smith gave chase but the Redcar winger stepped his way clear before embarking on a weaving run. The ball was eventually worked wide to the full-back, who combined a sharp sidestep with a powerful hand-off to score beneath the posts. The conversion was added and the score stood at 29-12 approaching half-time.

Any thoughts of a comeback were quickly extinguished after the break. Trimble crossed again after another flowing handling move, finishing in the corner before Lithgo added the extras to make it 36-12.

The next try brought the loudest cheer of the afternoon from the Friarage faithful. Smith pounced on a loose ball and found Calvert, who raced down the wing before producing a superb offload. The ball eventually made its way back to Smith who, seemingly rolling back the years, stepped one defender, brushed aside another and then produced an audacious dummy to beat the final man before stumbling over in the corner. Lithgo landed an excellent touchline conversion to make it 43-12.

Rovers were enjoying themselves and soon added another. Harrison sliced through the defence from deep inside his own 22 before racing to halfway and delivering a superb pass to Rochester, who shrugged off the final defender to score under the posts. Lithgo converted to bring up the half-century at 50-12.

The next score arrived almost immediately. From the restart, young Paddy Roberts made valuable metres before Lithgo turned the defence with a clever kick towards the corner. The Redcar winger failed to gather cleanly and Trimble reacted quickest to collect and score his fifth try of the game. The conversion was missed, but Rovers led 55-12.

As the visitors began to tire, the gaps became increasingly obvious. Lithgo took full advantage, spotting a hole in the defensive line before accelerating through and rounding the full-back to score beneath the posts. The conversion made it 62-12.

Calvert completed the scoring late on when he picked from close range and powered through several defenders from ten metres out. The conversion attempt struck the upright, bringing an end to the contest with Rovers comfortable 67-12 winners.

This was a strong performance against a talented young Redcar side who are clearly a club with a bright future. When Rovers clicked, their attacking rugby was a joy to watch, producing some outstanding tries from all areas of the field. There were still moments where cohesion and game management could have been better, but scoring 67 points against quality opposition leaves little room for complaint.

Next up for Rovers is a trip to Stockton to face Stockton 2nds.