Rooney record as Wakefield run riot

Chorley Lynx 6 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 88

Jamie Rooney broke the Wakefield record for point scoring in a match as the Super League side ran riot in their Powergen Challenge Cup fourth round tie at Chorley.

The talented young British stand-off scored a hat-trick of tries and kicked 12 goals from 16 attempts for a personal total of 36 points.

His half-back partner, Ben Jeffries, chipped in with five tries in a ruthless display that showed all too clearly the difference between part-time and full-time players.

A snow-covered pitch and freezing temperatures can be great levellers in the cup and Wakefield did stutter a little through the opening stages, but a penalty for offside let them apply some pressure to a Chorley side well below even its customary strength in National League Two. A move involving Albert Talipeau and Rooney sent Jeffries over in the corner with Rooney kicking the first of his goals.

Trinity were still prone to handling mistakes but, after 10 minutes, a Chorley knock-down produced a scrum from which the new Wakefield winger, Semi Tadulala, found clear space on the outside for their second try with Rooney again converting.

Three minutes later, David Solomona showed his pace by charging through the middle to set up Jeffries for his second try. Jeffries then turned try-maker by supplying the pass for David Korkidis with the game already dead as a contest. Tadulala also claimed his second, from a long pass by Talipeau, and Jeffries completed his hat-trick, thanks to a break from another Trinity newcomer, Sid Domic.

Still within the first half-hour, the Wakefield captain, Gareth Ellis, scrambled over with Rooney still faultless with his goal-kicking.

Under the circumstances, Chorley did well to stem the tide even briefly, with their loose forward, Chris Newall, going over for their first points with Brian Capewell adding the goal.

Immediately before the break, however, Domic split the defence again, this time touching down himself.

Some lovely handling produced a try for Rooney at the start of the second half, before Korkidas' superb pass sent Jeffries in for his fourth, closely followed by a second for Rooney.

Chorley then kept their line intact for 12 minutes before Ellis became another to register a second try. Rooney rounded off his hat-trick with an interception from Anthony Murray's loose pass. It was Rooney's pass that paved the way for David March's try to set up the conversion that equalled Mark Conway's record from the 1992-3 season.

Jeffries' burst gave Dallas Hood the 15th Wakefield try, but Rooney missed what would have been the record-breaking kick but took his chance when Jeffries went over in the final minute.

"Jamie will break quite a few records in his career," his coach, Shane McNally, predicted. "He's got a huge career ahead of him."

Chorley Lynx: Capewell; Kilgannon, Lacey, Redford, O'Regan; Alexander, Gambles; Jones, Murray, Parry, G Smith, Roden, Newall. Substitutes used: Rowley, Ramsdale, Duncan, Briggs.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats: Halpenny; Ryder, Domic, Tadulala, Rooney; Jeffries, Elima; March, Korkidas, Solomona, Hood, Talipeau. Substitutes used: Demetriou, Griffin, Wrench, Handforth.

Referee: R Laughton (Barnsley).