Unbeaten Toronto Wolfpack overwhelm Coventry Bears in rugby league play

TORONTO — The Toronto Wolfpack got off to a slow start Saturday but rebounded to overwhelm yet another part-time rugby league opponent, defeating the Coventry Bears 54-12.

There was initial confusion over the Toronto score. A match official, apparently deeming that another Wolfpack conversion attempt had been good in the first half, added two points to the running total during the second half.

The inflated score was confirmed immediately after the game but was later reduced by two points. Wolfpack coach Paul Rowley called it part of the “learning curve” of the sport here.

Toronto (9-0-0) has entered the third tier of English rugby league with an eye to winning promotion all the way to the elite Super League.

A fully professional side, the first-year Wolfpack have had their way with their semi-pro opposition. Toronto has a 536-85 overall scoring edge this season. 

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The Wolfpack, rugby’s first transatlantic team, are 3-0-0 at home where they have battered the visitors 186-26. Announced attendance at Lamport Stadium on a sunny 21-degree Celsius afternoon was 7,236, following crowds of 6,281 and 7,144 for the first two home games.

Coventry (1-8-0) came into the game ranked 14th in the 16-team Kingstone Press League 1, giving up 40.5 points a game.

But the visitors proved a tough out in the early going, with the score 8-4 for Toronto after 30 minutes. Three tries in the last nine minutes of the half gave the Wolfpack a 24-6 lead at the break.

The home side was frustrated by penalties and handling errors. But as Coventry tired, Toronto kept the scoreboard ticking.

Despite the score, Coventry kept attacking but could not convert in what was billed as the “battle of the beasts.”

Liam Kay scored three tries for Toronto while Andrew Dixon and Fuifui Moimoi had two and Bob Beswick, Ryan Brierley and Rhys Jacks added singles. Craig Hall kicked seven conversions.

Kay was on crutches after the game, saying he had rolled his ankle.

Jamahl Hunte and Brad Delaney scored tries for Coventry. Delaney added a penalty and a conversion.

Coming off a 68-point win over the previously unbeaten Barrow Raiders, the No. 2 team in the division, Rowley dug into his roster for Coventry.

He used all four of his North American internationals: Americans Ryan Burroughs and Joe Eichner and Australian-born Jacks and Tom Dempsey who play for Canada thanks to their bloodlines.

Eichner, who earned a contract as a trialist, and Dempsey, whose mother is from Edmonton, made their Wolfpack debuts coming off the interchange bench.

Quentin Laulu-Togaga’e, Dan Fleming and Steve Crossley sat out to make way for the North Americans. James Laithwaite, Blake Wallace, Gary Wheeler and Jack Bussey were injured while Jake Emmitt was suspended.

Coventry, admitted into the third tier in 2015, came into the game having been outscored 324-140 this season.

The Bears have lost four straight in the league and conceded 40-plus points five times. They were knocked out of two cup competitions at the first hurdle.

Coventry coach Tom Tsang, 32, is working with a squad whose average age is 22. He looked at Saturday’s game with an eye to the future.

“This league is the highest most of our players have played,” Tsang said prior to the match. “You look at the other side — NRL (Australia’s National Rugby League) experience, Super League experience, international experience.

“So for our guys who want to improve themselves and progress their careers, this is a really big opportunity to learn from what’s a very very good team. And hopefully that can then help them in their future careers — just the experience and soaking up the atmosphere of the day and all that comes with it.”

The Wolfpack are giving all proceeds from Saturday’s program sales to the Manchester bombing relief campaign. Many of their players come from the Manchester area and two had family members at the Ariana Grande concert that was the subject of the attack. They escaped injury.

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

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