Wildcats rocked by tragedy

Warrington 24 Hull KR 1

The Super League match between the Celtic Crusaders and Wakefield was postponed last night following the death of a Wildcats player in the Reserve Championship game between the two clubs in the afternoon. Leon Walker, a 21-year-old back-row forward, collapsed on the field after 63 minutes of the match, which was played at Maesteg rugby union club and was airlifted to Morriston Hospital in Swansea, where he was pronounced dead. The main game at the Brewery Field in Bridgend was called off as a mark of respect to Walker, who joined Wakefield from Salford in the winter and had represented Yorkshire and England in his age group.

The decision was made just 35 minutes before the scheduled kick-off, with the Rugby League at that time saying only that the postponement was due to "unforeseen circumstances". The Wakefield chairman, Ted Richardson, later revealed: "Our player has passed away, despite efforts to revive him. It's a terrible shock for everyone – it's as though it never ends."

The sudden death is the second to strike Wakefield within six months, following the death of the first-team prop, Adam Watene, after a gym session. Watene was found to have been suffering from a virus that affected his heart. On the latest tragedy, a club statement said: "Leon had a promising future in the game. It was felt that tonight's game could not go ahead." The RFL chief executive, Nigel Wood, called it "a shocking and tragic day. Our heartfelt condolences go to Leon's parents, family and friends."

In Warrington, a transformed defensive effort brought the home side their first Super League points of the season in a 24-12 win over Hull KR, and a reminder from their old talisman that he is not ready for the scrapheap just yet. Warrington's new coach, Tony Smith, grasped the nettle after last week's thrashing at Harlequins by dropping Lee Briers to the bench.

As it was, a hamstring injury to Michael Monaghan meant that Briers played almost 50 minutes and contributed to preserving and extending the Wolves' lead with a couple of try-saving tackles and a pair of kicks which produced two tries for his team. "I tip my hat to him," Smith said. "I look forward to similar performances without having to drop him."

After going ahead through Ben Harrison's try, Warrington defended better than they have all season. Monaghan cut back to touch down and, by the time Briers came on, his side was 10 points ahead. That became 16 when Kris Welham lost the ball and Paul Johnson went over to score, with Chris Hicks adding his second goal.

There was plenty more defending after the break, with Briers' effort to stop Michael Dobson the stand-out tackle. Then a beautifully judged kick from Briers and an equally good one-handed take from Johnson seemed to have put them in the clear. Rovers finally got over the line when Peter Fox dived on to Dobson's kick in the corner, but another Briers kick, plucked out of the air by King, restored the gap. Makali Aizue then burst through for Rovers' second try but there was insufficient time left.