Hopwood Hall College make history with first ever College Premier Division Grand Final win

Hopwood Hall College hold on to narrowly edge out Castleford Tigers College of Rugby League and claim their first ever Grand Final triumph in the College Premier Division!

The host venue Rochdale Mayfield was bathed in early evening Spring sunshine as Hopwood Hall College and Castleford Tigers College of Rugby League did battle for the right to call themselves the College Premier Division’s premier college.

It was Hopwood Hall who came roaring out of the blocks, perhaps seeking to use the setting sun on their backs to their advantage. Straight from the kick-off, the Rochdale-based side’s opening drive put prop forward Reece Smethurst in a position to crash over the Castleford try line under the posts for the opening score of the game. Player of the Match Connor Whitehead began a near-faultless performance with the easy conversion.

Hopwood failed to take advantage of their early momentum and Castleford were able to grow into the game. Stand-off Mitchell Beedle aimed to pin the Hopwood defence on their own line with high attacking kicks, and Jack Pallister was the beneficiary of one of those kicks. The winger met his opposite number Mason Riley in the air and ripped the ball out of the Hopwood winger’s hands, eventually powering past three Hopwood defenders to score the Yorkshire side’s first try. Beedle added the extras to bring the scores back level at 6-a-piece.

Both sides had clearly saved their best, most scintillating attacking play for the final and it showed with the next score. From a Hopwood scrum near the halfway line, the ball was fed to winger Zico Barker, who showed a clean pair of heels and outpaced Tigers full-back Leroy Ncube to score and retake the lead for his side. Whitehead’s conversion attempt from the touchline would be the scrum-half’s only miss of the day with the boot.

Hopwood had the advantage on the scoreboard, but would soon be reduced to 12 players as Noah Wild was given a yellow card by the referee for roughness in the tackle. The Tigers immediately made Wild and his Hopwood teammates pay as Harrison Simpson ran over a defender and reached a long arm out to touch down and once again bring the scores level at 10-10.

Whitehead kicked a penalty on the half-time whistle to give the 12 men of Hopwood a two-point lead heading into the second half.

HT: Hopwood Hall College 12-10 Castleford Tigers College of Rugby League

Repeating their supercharged exploits of the first half, Hopwood shrugged off their numerical disadvantage. The ball bounced kindly for Whitehead, who charged through a gap in the Castleford defence to score his first try of the game, a try that he also converted.

The to’ing and fro’ing of the match continued as the Tigers hit back almost immediately. From roughly a yard out from the Hopwood line, prop Jay Dawson flopped on the ball right under the sticks - sheer strength and power being utilised just as much as silky half-back play. Beedle added another conversion to bring the deficit back to just 2 points.

Spurred on by a bumper ‘home’ crowd, the Hopwood defence intensified and limited Castleford to minimal yardage from their own try line. Full-back Rafa van Osselaer fielded a high kick in the Tigers’ half and set up a dummy-half scoot from Evan Buckley, who scored under the posts.

Hopwood continued to punish the Castleford line, and although the Tigers were able to hold up hooker Tide King over the line, Whitehead produced dazzling footwork to exploit a hole in the defence. With two defenders converging on him, Hopwood’s inspirational half-back was able to reach out and dot the ball down on the line for his brace. His conversion broke the 30-point barrier and Hopwood looked to have one hand on the trophy at this point in the match.

Desperate to keep the game alive, Castleford probed the Hopwood defence but were met with firm resistance. When they did finally make the breakthrough, interchange Oliver Meillam had the ball knocked from his grip with the try line at his mercy. The Tigers got the score that their persistence deserved after stripping Hopwood of possession and making headway towards the line. The defence was eventually breached by Max Grinhaff, a score that kept the Tigers’ hopes of lifting the trophy alive.

After a long injury stoppage, Grinhaff was in again to reduce the deficit to just two points yet again and set up a tense, nervy and exciting end to the match. It all came too late for Castleford, however, as Hopwood held on for the win. Not content with just making a small slice of history by reaching their first ever College Premier Division Grand Final, Hopwood Hall College went one further. Led by captain Daniel Coope, they lifted the trophy aloft and sparked jubilation amongst the Hopwood faithful and a very proud head coach in Matt Calland.

FT: Hopwood Hall College 30-28 Castleford Tigers College of Rugby League

Hopwood Hall College:

1. Rafa van Osselaer 2. Mason Riley 3. Eugene Tinudu 4. Andy Lee 5. Zico Barker 6. Décan Connelley 7. Connor Whitehead 8. Jackob Digden 18. Tide King 10. Reece Smethurst 11. Leo Talbot 12. Noah WIld 13. Daniel Coope 14. Evan Buckley 15. Fin Johnson 16. William Eastwood 17. Kade Lee

Tries: Connor Whitehead (x2), Reece Smethurst, Zico Barker, Evan Buckley

Goals: Connor Whitehead (x5)

Castleford Tigers College of Rugby League:

1. Leroy Ncube 2. Jack Pallister 3. Lewis Pavier 4. Travis Tennant 5. Leyton Atkinson 6. Mitchell Beedle 7. Sonny Wall 8. Jay Dawson 9. Zach McGowan 10. Layton Whitehead 11. Jack Egley 12. Harrison Simpson 13. Max Grinhaff 14. Sean Coughlan 15. Leon Nestor 16. Oliver Meillam 17. Brad Bullock

Tries: Max Grinhaff (x2), Jack Pallister, Harrison Simpson, Jay Dawson

Goals: Mitchell Beedle (x4)

By Patrick Bratin