Rossendale wasted no time making their mark at Marl Pits, striking within minutes of the kick-off. After Blackburn recovered possession, the ball was ripped away and moved quickly through the hands to Byron McGuigan. The winger shrugged off a couple of tackles before offloading to Alex Ropeti, who powered over five metres in from the touchline. Lewis Allen nailed the tricky conversion from the left, giving Rossendale an early 7-0 lead.

Just seven minutes in, Rossendale suffered an early blow as second-row Olie Parkinson limped off with an injury, replaced by Matt Ringland. But the hosts didn’t let it slow them down. Straight from the restart, they won possession again, and Zac Stephens tore through two tackles on the 22 before diving over to the left of the posts. Allen was on target once more, extending the lead to 14-0.

Blackburn Hit Back, But Rossendale Stay in Control

Blackburn responded with a converted try of their own, capitalising on a penalty and driving over from a line-out in the corner, closing the gap to 14-7.

Rossendale, however, were in no mood to let momentum slip. From the kick-off, they regained possession on the halfway line and quickly shifted the ball through the centres to McGuigan. The winger chipped ahead, took out three defenders, and was nearly blocked off, but muscled his way through to touch down under the posts. Another conversion from Allen made it 21-7.

The fourth try came soon after. A well-won scrum on the right was moved through the backs to Terence Babarinsa, who was held up but recycled the ball to Matt Lamprey. After bouncing off a couple of tackles, the ball was flung wide by Allen, finding Zane Ainsley, who dotted down just to the right of the posts. This time, Allen’s kick drifted wide, but Rossendale still led 26-7.

End-to-End First Half

Rossendale’s dominance continued when Gabe Maguire stripped the ball from Blackburn’s attack and set off a rapid counter. The hosts had a two-man overlap, and when the ball found Denny Solomona, who dummied his way through the defence before going over to the left of the posts. Another missed conversion left the score at 31-7.

Blackburn weren’t going down without a fight, and their second converted try reduced the deficit to 31-14. But Rossendale kept the scoreboard ticking over. A deep clearance from Blackburn was gathered by Lamprey, who bulldozed straight through midfield before finding Ben Stephens in support. Under pressure from the fullback, Stephens forced his way over, but yet again, the conversion went astray—36-14.

Just before half-time, Blackburn made the most of a penalty, crossing for a converted try to keep themselves in the hunt at 36-21 as the teams headed into the break.

Tense Second Half as Blackburn Close the Gap

Rossendale struck first in the second period through Zac Stephens. After a turnover on halfway, the ball moved swiftly through the backs, with Solomona shrugging off tackles before flicking a stunning offload to Stephens, who dummied out wide before cutting inside to score. This time, Allen found his range, pushing the lead to 43-21.

But Rossendale’s discipline began to slip. Solomona saw yellow for a high tackle, giving Blackburn an opportunity to hit back. They took it, setting up a line-out after yet another penalty and driving over. With the conversion good, the gap narrowed to 43-28.

Blackburn weren’t finished. A break down the right saw their winger fly into the corner, and although the tough conversion was missed, suddenly it was 43-33 with 18 minutes still to play.

Late Drama as Rossendale Hold On

Tensions flared in the closing stages, with Solomona shown a red card for another high tackle, leaving Rossendale to see out the last five minutes with 14 men.

But just as Blackburn looked for a dramatic comeback, Rossendale had the final say with a 43-33 victory.