Eagles beaten by Leigh

29/04/2022

Sheffield Eagles will be looking for revenge on Leigh Centurions next weekend, in the 1895 Cup semi-final, after a 34-6 defeat in round ten of the Betfred Championship on Friday. 

The Eagles were without attacking mainstays Quentin Laulu-Togaga’e and Anthony Thackeray, as Izaac Farrell and Tom Holmes partnered each other in the halves while Jason Bass switched from the wing to full-back. 

Matty Chrimes and Connor Bower were also re-introduced to the starting 13 at winger and second-row respectively,

The Eagles were a touch unlucky not to be ahead after ten minutes as Bass had a try ruled out for obstruction. 

Leigh hit back immediately with a penalty to take them into Sheffield’s half before Adam Sidlow broke the deadlock by powering over from close range. Krisnan Inu kicked the first of three conversions in the opening 40. 

Ben Reynolds was next over the whitewash for the Centurions, the beneficiary of a Tom Amone offload. 

Ed Chamberlain’s try on 27 minutes would prove to be the last scoring act of the first period as he muscled his way past an Eagles defender. 

Vila Halafihi went close to breaking Sheffield’s duck in the latter stages of the half but the hooker was held up by the Centurions defence. 

Half-time - Leigh Centurions 18-0 Sheffield Eagles

Ben Jones-Bishop came up with a superb try-saver four minutes after the restart, chasing down a breakaway Leigh attacker. The following tackle saw the Eagles penalised for offside, the subsequent pressure proved too much with Keanan Brand touching down. Inu again with the conversion. 

Sam Stone crossed the whitewash on 52 minutes as Leigh extended their advantage to 28 points. Inu hit the post as his conversion attempt went astray. 

The Eagles were next on the scoresheet, just after the hour mark passed. A loose ball was scooped up by Holmes, who took advantage of the stop-start Leigh defence. Izaac converted successfully. 

James McDonnell responded for the hosts with what turned out to be the final try of the evening. Inu tagged on the two. 

Full-time - Leigh Centurions 34-6 Sheffield Eagles

The Eagles head back to Leigh next Sunday for an 1895 Cup semi-final clash with the Centurions, Can Sheffield make a return to the final, after winning the competition back in 2019? You can get your tickets from venuetoolbox.com/leighsportsvillage.