Championship round-up: Batley upset Toulouse, London bounce back, Hall on fire

Part-time Batley caused a huge upset against full-time Toulouse in round 11 of the Championship.

A hat-trick from Jason Crookes helped Batley Bulldogs cause an upset by easing past Toulouse Olympique 46-22 at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium on Saturday. Bastien Ader crossed for two tries for Toulouse, but it was Batley who came out on top thanks to a hard-fought and gritty display.

Featherstone Rovers beat Barrow Raiders 38-26 at Craven Park on Sunday. Italy star Dean Parata and Gene Ormsby got on the scoresheet for the Raiders, while Martyn Ridyard scored 14 points for the Rovers and Harry Newman scored two.

Halifax scored two tries in the final five minutes to deny Swinton Lions their first win of the season with an 18-12 scoreline. Steve Tryer scored twice for Fax, while Germany ace Brad Billsborough made his debut for Swinton.

Kieran Dixon scored a hat-trick and Sadiq Adebiyi scored two to help London Broncos bounce back from two defeats and win 30-15 against Rochdale Hornets at the Crown Oil Arena on Friday night. Warrington Wolves starlets Declan Patton, Harvey Livett and Pat Moran featured for Rochdale.

Leigh Centurions kept up their good form with a 72-20 thrashing of Sheffield Eagles at the Olympic Legacy Park on Sunday afternoon. Craig Hall scored four tries for the Centurions, while Peter Mata’utia and Jack Owens scored two tries each.

Adam Higson and Ryan Brierley put in stellar performances to help Toronto Wolfpack win their seventh game in a row, with a 23-12 win over Dewsbury Rams at the Tetley’s Stadium on Sunday.

Toronto remain top of the Championship with 19 points, while Featherstone are on 18 in second. Leigh and Halifax are just two points behind fourth-placed London. Swinton sit rock bottom, having not won a game yet.