Round 15 of the Betfred Championship began with Widnes Vikings returning to winning ways, as they registered a sensational victory over league leaders Toulouse.
Allan Coleman’s side made a blistering start and never looked back, recording their first league double over Toulouse since returning to the second tier.
The Vikings opened the scoring inside the first three minutes with Matty Fozard feeding Adam Lawton, who crashed over from close range.
Lawton doubled his tally just six minutes later, powering through two Toulouse defenders.
The visitors eventually got on the scoreboard through Paul Marcon, who collected a looping pass to cross in the corner, but Rhys Williams replied almost instantly, and the hosts were 18-4 up at the break.
In the second half, Joe Edge knocked over the penalty to push the lead to 16 points, before Lawton completed his hat-trick late on, rounding off a strong individual performance and helping to seal a hard-fought and memorable win for his side.
This was Toulouse’s first defeat since March.
On Sunday, London Broncos turned recent positive performances into points with a huge win over Hunslet.
The Broncos ran in 13 tries against their West Yorkshire opponents, which included four from Louix Gorman. Hometown hero Alex Walker also reached a century of career tries on this sunny afternoon.
Meanwhile, Oldham held on to win against Halifax. Tries from Ben Davies, Mathieu Pons, Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e and Owen Farnworth plus a Danny Craven drop goal saw Sean Long’s men home, as the Roughyeds bounced back from last week’s defeat in the south of France to consolidate their position in the top four.
‘Fax showed great spirit but are still searching for their first win since April.
York Knights moved up to second place in the Championship table after beating Featherstone Rovers in very hot conditions at the LNER Community Stadium.
In a repeat of the recent AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final, both teams started the game ferociously with strong defence once again being a characteristic of the match.
After a tight first half, the Knights held an eight-point lead going in at the break after tries from Ata Higano and Kieran Buchanan.
Connor Wynne hit back for the visitors.
The second stanza then saw the Knights outscore Fev three tries to one – with Paul McShane, Connor Bailey and Connor Fitzsimmons producing the goods.
In other news, Bradford slipped to third in the table following their defeat to Barrow this weekend. It was Joe Bullock who became a Raiders hero after scoring the leveller two minutes from time.
Ryan Johnston’s boot then sealed victory as the Cumbrian side completed an emphatic league double over the Bulls in 2025.
Barrow were ahead at 18-6 at the break and looked firmly in control, but Tom Holmes and Ronan Michael hit back just after the hour mark.
Waqa Blake’s score then put Bradford ahead for the first time since the opening ten minutes, but it was Barrow who would have the last say.
The distance between Brian Noble's men and top spot remains just two points, with Toulouse hanging onto 1st for at least another week.
Finally, Batley beat Sheffield to move level with them on league points. The Bulldogs had been eight games without a win, but Kieran Gill’s brace inspired them to victory.
Betfred Championship Round 15 results:
Widnes Vikings 24 Toulouse Olympique 4
Hunslet 6 London Broncos 72
Halifax Panthers 20 Oldham 23
York Knights 30 Featherstone Rovers 8
Batley Bulldogs 24 Sheffield Eagles 14
Barrow Raiders 24 Bradford Bulls 22
The full fixture list for the Betfred Championship can be found here.
Photo Credit: Widnes Vikings
