Championship round-up: Major shocks with epic bottom four tussles as York the big winners

York Knights have moved up to second in the Championship after a potentially season-defining weekend in the race to finish top of the second tier.

The Knights continued their fine form with another impressive victory, this time defeating Featherstone Rovers in a rematch of the 1895 Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Mark Applegarth’s side were much too strong for Paul Cooke’s men, with Paul McShane and Ata Hingano among their try-scorers as the Knights won 30-8.

And that win was enough to move York into the top two after Bradford suffered a major upset in Cumbria as they slipped to defeat at Barrow Raiders.

The Bulls led 22-18 after producing a sterling fightback to move to the brink of a win that would have taken them joint-top of the league after Toulouse’s loss to Widnes on Saturday.

But a late try for Barrow’s Joe Bullock proved significant, as the conversion was kicked and the Raiders won 24-22 to complete a league double over the Bulls.

The win moves Barrow to within three points of the top two after York’s win – while Oldham are the same distance behind after winning a thriller against Halifax Panthers at Odsal Stadium, with Sean Long’s side winning 23-20.

There were two huge scorelines at the bottom too. The bottom four all played each other on Sunday and it was London and Batley who emerged victorious to breathe life into their hopes of escaping a possible role in the Super 8s later this summer.

London won 72-6 at bottom side Hunslet while Batley marked the start of John Kear’s second reign in charge with a 24-14 win over Sheffield to move level on points with the Eagles as the season approaches its business end.

Championship results (Sunday June 29)

Barrow Raiders 24-22 Bradford Bulls
Batley Bulldogs 24-14 Sheffield Eagles
Halifax Panthers 20-23 Oldham
Hunslet 6-72 London Broncos
York Knights 30-8 Featherstone Rovers

And you can see the latest tables in our live score centre. Simply click here.