By Richard Sykes

Two tries by Tom Hainsworth and others by Tom Parkin, Leighton Davis, Liam Stapley and Kian Stewart earned Huddersfield a 42-36 win over Sheffield Tigers, in an 11-try thriller at Lockwood Park.

Head coach Callum Thompson was delighted to get over the line, in what he described as a “close, nerve-wracking game.”

Thompson said: “We looked a threat all game. Our forwards carried well and our backs looked lethal.

“I am pleased to see a strong centre partnership forming between Gareth Widdop and Tom Hainsworth. Both were outstanding today.

“We came under pressure in the lineout but our maul defence improved throughout the game and we defended brilliantly in the second half, particularly holding them when we went down to 14 men, just after the break.”

Field went behind in the opening minute. Having knocked on from the kick off they were punished when winger Silas Talbot crossed in the corner, after the ball was shipped wide behind the scrum. Jacob Rudd converted.

From the re-start winger Lewis Workman produced a counter attacking run for Field, which drew the first of two penalties and set up a lineout five metres out.

The setpiece was solid, the ball was mauled infield and slipped to Hainsworth, who cruised through for his first. Fly-half Will Milner notched the first of his six conversions.

Two, virtually identical, converted tries, by hooker Jacob Jamieson, then recaptured the lead for Tigers.

After Field were penalised twice in five minutes inside their 22, the ball was kicked to touch and Jamieson dotted down in the maul from the line outs.

Midway through the first half Field levelled again, with two tries in quick succession, both from rock solid scrummage ball.

Full-back Parkin was the first to strike, entering the line at pace to touch down behind the posts.

Then, after some excellent work by Stewart and flanker Tom Haywood, Hainsworth was put in for his second.

Field looked very accomplished in possession. The forwards persistently dented the Tigers’ defence with powerful drives, and their backs tested it further, with slick running lines.

However, the Field lineout was untidy and a chance to take the lead, on the half hour, was missed when one was lost just five metres from the Tigers’ line.

In the final minute of the half another lost throw gifted possession to the visitors on halfway. Field were stung when Rudd broke clear and passed to winger Tom O’Brien, who scored a converted corner flag try to give Tigers a seven-point lead at half-time.

Davis’s try came straight after the break, the flanker powering to the line from 30 metres, after good work and ball retention by Stapley.

In a sustained spell of Tigers’ pressure Hainsworth saw yellow, but 14-man Field showed true grit in defence, restricting their visitors to just three penalty points in his absence.

Stapley’s try gave Field the lead on 55 minutes. Workman set up the attacking position with a touchline break and when Tigers were penalised the scrum option was taken. No8 Lewis Bradley and Milner went close, before Stapley crashed over from short range.

Stewart then sprinted in for his converted score, after a 30-metre break by Hainsworth and some delightful ball handling, which gave Field an 11-point cushion with 15 minutes left.

Tigers pressed hard to get back on terms but were frustrated by some superb try line defence. They were eventually rewarded, right at the death, with an unconverted try by scrum-half Shay Lewis to secure a well-deserved, losing bonus point.

Huddersfield travel to Darlington Mowden Park for Round 3 of their National 2 North campaign on Saturday September 19.

Huddersfield: Parkin, Workman, Hainsworth; Widdop; Stewart K; Milner; Walsh; Bailey; Moore; Abbot; Garrity; Myers; Davis; Haywood; Bradley. Replacements: Thompson; Cawte-Davey; Baxter; Stapley; Johnson.

Image by: Gerald Tinson