Ladbrokes set to become partner for Test series
THE Rugby Football League have announced that Ladbrokes will become a partner of England Rugby League for the forthcoming International Test Series against New Zealand.
Ladbrokes have been involved with rugby league since 2015 as title sponsor of the oldest and most prestigious competition in the sport, the Challenge Cup.
In 2016, they were also title sponsor of the Four Nations Series held here in the UK.
Ladbrokes will have branding rights with England across the International Test matches to be held at the KCOM Stadium, Anfield and Elland Road and also the England versus France fixture taking place at Leigh Sports Village.
Rugby Football League chief executive, Ralph Rimmer said: “Ladbrokes have been a huge supporter of rugby league over the past four years at various levels of the domestic and international game and it’s fantastic that they are on board as a partner of England Rugby League for this year’s International Series.
“It’s hugely important for England Rugby League to be strong both on and off the field and we’re delighted that we can add Ladbrokes to the portfolio of partners alongside Dacia, Ronseal, Kingstone Press and hummel.”
Ladbrokes Coral PR director, Simon Clare, said: “We are delighted that our long-standing relationship with the Rugby Football League is continuing into this year’s International Test Series with Ladbrokes an official partner of the England team.
“We wish the team all the best in the coming months.”
The two sides are involved in a three-match International Test Series which starts on Saturday, October 27 at Hull Kingston Rovers’ KCOM Stadium.
The second Test takes place at Liverpool FC’s Anfield home on Sunday, November 4 and concludes at Leeds United’s Elland Road ground on Sunday, November 11.
Tickets for all three games are on sale now at rugby-league.com and cost from £25 for adults and £12.50 for concessions.
‘Our League’ members will get £5 off all ticket categories when purchased through the Our League App or website. ●
Tuesday, September 27, 1977 LEEDS snatched victory in a BBC2 Floodlit Trophy clash with a try in the last minute after Widnes had dominated the match for long periods.
Keith Elwell gave the Chemics a flying start with two tries in the first 15 minutes, first following up a Mick Adams kick and then going over after taking a pass from Reg Bowden for Ray Dutton to convert.
Leeds came back to lead 9-8 at half-time but a Dutton penalty was followed by a spectacular 80 yard try from Mick George.
Leeds pulled back a penalty goal and took the spoils with the last play of the game.
Dutton’s two goals were the last points of his Widnes career as he set club records of 1,083 goals and 2,195 points. ● WIDNES VIKINGS: On This Day is available now at £9.99 from the Vikings Superstore. ● TORONTO WOLFPACK ............. 20 WIDNES VIKINGS ...................... 12
THE Vikings’ seven year spell in Super League came to an end as they went down 20-12 to Toronto Wolfpack in Canada on Saturday afternoon.
The defeat was Widnes’s third to Championship opposition in the Super 8s Qualifiers and extinguished the club’s already slim hopes of maintaining their topflight status.
In many ways it was a familiar story for Vikings’ followers.
They saw their side clearly trying their hardest to pull something out of the bag but a lack of cutting-edge near the opposition line and errors at key moments once again saw Francis Cummins’s men come up short.
Across a number of aspects, the game was an even contest but the Wolfpack just seemed to have a bit more going on with ball-inhand with ex-Widnes full-back Gareth O’Brien playing a key role and kicking some important penalty goals at the back end of the contest.
Widnes also failed to consistently find kicks which wingers Owen Buckley and Patrick Ah Van could challenge for on the last tackle.
It is an area where you need to be proficient when you are struggling to open up teams with your passing and running game.
Toronto, with the tantalising prospect of promotion in their sights, appeared to be winning the early arm-wrestle but it was Widnes who hit the front on 12 minutes.
A shift to the left looked to have run out of steam but Buckley found the strong-running Chris Dean on his inside and the second-rower supplied a nice offload for full-back Joe Mellor to cross against a team with whom he has been linked for 2019.
Krisnan Inu’s successful goal made it 6-0.
The Vikings were dealt a blow immediately from the restart when Kiwi prop-forward Charlie Gubb came off the worse in a collision with opposite number Ashton Sims and left the field with a head injury.
Gubb lost the ball in the incident and it heralded a spell of consistent pressure on the Widnes tryline.
To be fair, there was some real commitment shown on goalline defence but eventually the dam broke as Toronto second-row Cory Paterson powered over from close-range for a six-pointer to level things up.
Inu nudged the Vikings back in front with a penalty goal for a ball steal and a window of opportunity seemed to open up when home centre Chase Stanley was sin-binned for a crusher tackle on Buckley.
However, Widnes failed to exploit their numerical advantage and instead it was the Wolfpack who scored next when O’Brien provided the killer pass to send former Warrington winger Matty Russell over on the left to give his side a 10-8 lead they held to the interval.
The Vikings started the second half with purpose and a break from the lively Mellor put them on the front foot.
The lead was regained on 43 minutes when a short ball from scrum-half Liam Finn was hit at pace by Dean who rounded O’Brien before touching down wide on the left to make it 12-10.
Both sides missed scoring chances with Paterson at one end and Harrison Hansen at the other crossing the whitewash but unable to ground the ball.
The pattern of play gave the impression the next score could be vital and it came Toronto’s way on 57 minutes when half-back Blake Wallace forced his way over from dummy-half just a little too easily. O’Brien’s goal put the home side 16-12 ahead.
Widnes once again got over the opposition line but Chris Houston was prevented from grounding on this occasion and on 67 minutes O’Brien added a penalty goal for the Wolfpack.
A fine Mellor break ended badly when he had the ball legally stripped from his grasp and the Vikings conceded a penalty for an illegal version of the same action on the back of it.
O’ Brien’s angled penalty shot gave Toronto a two score cushion and there was a feeling the game was up for Widnes.
Try as they did in the closing minutes, the Vikings could not find the key to unlocking the Wolfpack defence and Super League rugby finally slipped from their grasp.