Bees must go back to Merseyside

8:27pm Sunday 30th March 2008

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West Park St Helens 6, Bradford & Bingley 10 (match abandoned due to waterlogged pitch)

Bradford & Bingley must travel to Merseyside again next weekend after their National League Three North match was abandoned after 45 minutes yesterday because of a waterlogged pitch.

With Bradford & Bingley leading 10-6, the referee called a halt when it was deemed that the visitors' full back James Hewitt suffered an injury that was caused by the state of the pitch.

The Bees started with Ben Greaves at scrum half as Joe Bartlett had flu, Hewitt stepping in at No 15 and Ben Grange coming into the second row for Rod Turner, who was unavailable due to family commitments.

However, rain throughout the match turned the pitch into a quagmire, and the referee seemed only too happy to bring matters to a premature close.

Bees' flanker Neil Spence got the Bees' try, fly half Tom Rhodes - who recovered from sickness and diarrhoea to play - landing a conversion and a penalty.

West Park didn't want an abandonment but conditions were said to be horrendous.