North Wales Crusaders thumped the elite of Halifax’s youth at the Stobart Stadium.
Due to the freezing temperatures, Crusaders had to change venue for the fixture and therefore chose Widnes Vikings’ new i-pitch at the Stobart Stadium.
The i-pitch didn’t hinder North Wales Crusaders’ performance in any way and they started superbly, taking a 10-0 lead within five minutes.
Anthony Morison crossed over for the first try as a misplaced pass bounced around and he collected it to power his way underneath the sticks.
Rob Massam extended that lead as Crusaders shifted the ball to the wing and the former Chester Gladiator collected to scored in the corner.
Halifax then had Graham Rowlinson to thank as he tackled Massam into touch following a break.
There was a five minute spell where the Halifax dominated, but they couldn’t capitalise.
Ben Benn broke the Crusaders line and set up Dan Ratcliffe who was stopped short of the line and turned the ball over. Despite the field position they had, nothing came from it.
Jono Smith took his chance when it came though, as he split the Halifax defence and scored.
He then turned provider as he laid on Christiaan Roets to score in the corner following another break.
Chris Walker for Crusaders and Ben Manning for Halifax respectively, both squandered easy chances, as they both knocked on with the try line beckoning.
Two more tries came for North Wales Crusaders before the break.
Walker’s missed chance earlier was soon forgotten, as he picked up a dropped Halifax ball and ran 60 metres to score.
And Massam finished off the scoring before the interval with his second of the day.
Tommy Johnson broke and several passes were thrown before Massam finished it off in the corner.
The home side continued where they finished off in the first half, as two tries in quick succession took them into a 38-0 lead.
Rob Hayes grabbed the first as Sam Broadbent set him up, before man of the match Jamie Durbin finished off a move started by the equally impressive Leon Brennan.
Durbin then set up winger Kriss Wilkes who went over in the corner for the home sides ninth try.
Halifax’s pressure and strong defence made sure Crusaders didn’t score for a lengthy period, but the visitors were unable to threaten at the other end.
The ‘home’ side were reduced to 12 men shortly after Durbin added another try, Morison the man dismissed.
Bizarely, it sprung Crusaders into life once more.
Three more tries were added in the last ten minutes.
Sam Broadbent scored a fantastic solo try, as he skipped past several players to score and shortly afterwards, substitute, Billy Sheen intercepted a pass to run 50 metres and score.
Adam Walsh finished off the scoring as he managed to keep hold of the ball with some slick handlingand touch down in the corner.
Clive Grifiths will no doubt be overwhelmed with the result, but also the fact that they kept Halifax at zero points.
The talent of the Halifax youngsters could clearly be seen, but Crusaders just had that little bit more quality.