The Sheffield Eagles will head into their first Championship games of the season in high spirits after going through February with a 100% winning record, both in the 1895 Cup and the Challenge Cup.
Following on from an impressive 26-24 victory away at Hull KR of the Super League, the Eagles were faced with games every weekend of February.
Doncaster RLFC (A)
The Eagles’ first competitive match of the season was a South Yorkshire derby away at Doncaster in the 1895 Cup, a tournament for Championship and some League 1 sides.
In what was the first game of the group stage, the Dons were reduced to twelve men after Sam Smeaton was sent to the sin-bin for a high shot early on, with Titus Gwaze scoring to ensure that the man advantage was capitalised upon.
However, Sheffield’s Evan Hodgson was sin-binned shortly after for the same thing, and Doncaster scored themselves through Alex Sutcliffe, a summer signing from the Castleford Tigers.
Cory Aston, further to his conversion earlier, kicked a penalty before the break to put the Eagles 8-6 ahead at half-time.
Oliver Roberts twice and Hodgson again made it an unbelievable first fifteen minutes of the second half, making the Eagles race into a 22-6 lead.
That lead was made uncomfortable by back-to-back Doncaster tries from Ben Johnson and Joe Lovodua, but the Sheffield Eagles held on with some strong defensive efforts to stay ahead.
Final score: Doncaster RLFC 18-22 Sheffield Eagles
Newcastle Thunder (H)
Next up was the first home game of the season, welcoming the Newcastle Thunder to the Olympic Legacy Park Stadium in the third round of the Challenge Cup: the world’s oldest rugby cup competition, and the main cup competition in UK rugby league.
The Thunder have had to get through a lot recently; they announced that they wouldn’t be taking part in League One ahead of the 2024 season, before an ownership change and mass fundraising made it possible for them to play competitive rugby league this season.
Therefore, it was always going to be an uphill battle up against higher opposition, and the Eagles, through Izaac Farrell, Aaron Murphy and Matty Marsh, were three tries ahead before the 20-minute mark.
The Thunder responded well, with George Birch and Nathan Newbound capitalising on a poor defensive spell from the home side to score themselves.
Despite managing to bring it to 18-12, the Newcastle Thunder couldn’t hold on any longer, and James Glover, Farrell and Glover again scored before half-time to make it 34-12.
After half-time, it got ugly for the away side as Jack Hansen, Vila Halafihi, Marsh, Mitch Clark, Glover, Murphy and Halafihi again made it fifteen tries for the Eagles and a comprehensive victory in the cup.
Final score: Sheffield 88-12 Newcastle Thunder
Midlands Hurricanes (A)
The Eagles were back on the road and back in 1895 Cup action, travelling to the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham knowing a win would put them safely through to the knockout stage of the competition.
It took them just four minutes to open the scoring, with Matty Marsh beating two defenders and going over the line out of the left side.
Marsh then turned creator, giving Ryan Millar an easy try to double the lead, and Bayley Liu made it 14-0 before the half.
Two tries in four minutes after the break made it more comfortable, with Oliver Roberts and Ryan Johnson stretching the scoreline.
The Hurricanes gave the Eagles a scare, as Inoke Nakoronivalu produced a wonderful piece of quality to score before Joe Varo scored an interception try soon after.
It was then pulled back to 16-24 when Ross Oakes scored with a powerful effort on the line against his former club.
However, the Eagles held out again, and Lewis Peachey gave Marsh the opportunity to extend the lead just before the hooter.
The Batley Bulldogs travelled to the Olympic Legacy Park Stadium for the quarter-final, which the Eagles won 26-10, setting up a semi-final with the York Knights. The winners will play in the final at Wembley.
Final score: Midlands Hurricanes 16-30 Sheffield Eagles
York Knights 16-32 Sheffield Eagles
A trip to the LNER Community Stadium was up next for Mark Aston’s side, competing for a place in the Fifth Round of the Challenge Cup.
Early on, the York Knights took the lead as Brendan Santi crossed over just six minutes in. Dagger’s kick made it 6-0 to the hosts.
However, the Eagles responded quickly, as Matty Marsh and Matty Dawson-Jones made it a quickfire Matty double, giving the Eagles the lead.
York used a man advantage, after a Kris Welham sin bin, to score through Jimmy Keinhorst, but the numbers were reversed when Dagger was sent off for York after a headbutt.
The Knights were then reduced to eleven when Jordan Thompson went to the bin for a late tackle, and expectedly, Joel Farrell ran past four defenders to score before Aston’s kick ensured the Eagles had a 16-12 lead at the break.
Eddie Battye furthered the lead and Ben Jones-Bishop scored against his former side to make any prospect of a Knights comeback seem unlikely
They tried valiantly, and Jesse Dee scored a consolation, but the Eagles’ Anthony Thackeray was the last man to score, and the Eagles had a magnificent victory.
Final score: York Knights 16-32 Sheffield Eagles
Up next
After beating the Batley Bulldogs in the first game of March, the Eagles will travel to York for the 1895 Cup semi-final, aiming for a Wembley final in the summer. The date for that is, at the time of writing, yet to be confirmed.
An away game in the next round of the Challenge Cup will be broadcast by The Sportsman on YouTube, and this is against League One’s Swinton Lions.
The Championship season begins for the Eagles with a home game to last year’s playoff finalists Toulouse Olympique, which is at 7:30pm on Friday 15 March.
Two weeks later, a South Yorkshire derby awaits, with the Eagles playing against Doncaster RLFC at the Keepmoat Stadium. That game will be at 3pm on Good Friday, 29 March.
Featured Image Credit: @SheffieldEagles via X