PENNINE League Premier Division defending champions West Bowling posted a fearless 20-12 win in a physical encounter at Upton.

West’s outstanding skipper, loose forward Richard Lumb, created the opening touchdown when he ran an arc on the left to offload to centre Jack Milburn, who charged downfield to draw the full back and send scrum half Ben Heald under the posts.

Stand-off Liam Coe added the extras but Bowling blew a golden opportunity to double their tally before the hosts barged their way to the whitewash to level the scores.

However, Bowling responded quickly and were only thwarted when a high shot on Milburn prevented a try, which earned the home loose forward a trip to the sin bin.

West’s used the extra man to spread the ball wide, and excellent link play through Coe, full back Max Trueman and packman Dan Gregory generated the opportunity for wingman Chris Curtain to score in the corner.

Coe ensured full reward with a splendid touchline conversion, and the visitors continued to dominate the game, with the interval approaching when an Upton prop's elbow on defender Chris Watson resulted in his dismissal.

The hosts had another player sent off shortly after the restart before Bowling made the game safe on the hour when Trueman glided through.

The mighty Milburn stormed over to put the result beyond any doubt at 20-6 but they were frustrated to let the hosts off the hook by conceding a converted try on the hooter.

Division One Victoria Rangers failed to trouble the scorers in a 38-0 defeat at Siddal, and Queensbury have had to withdraw their third team from Division Four West due to a shortage of players.

Club spokesman Andy Thornton said: “We regretfully will have to withdraw. This would have been our fifth season in which we have turned out three open-age sides, but sadly the players' non-commitment has caught up with us.”