Hoppers were looking to bounce back after a home defeat to Otley last time out whilst Tigers were looking to build on their narrow victory against Hull Ionians.

The hosts took the early lead, but Hoppers opened their account just minutes later with a good use of a line-out ending in Hugo Castle going over to restore parity at seven a piece following Sam Freemans conversion.

That was all the travelling Hoppers had to celebrate for the remainder of the half with everything seemingly going against them.

Tigers restored their lead through William Goff who was helped over by his team-mates before Ireland converted.

Their lead was then extended when James Norman finished over a well worked move with the score at the half reading 19-7 to the hosts.

Hoppers re-entered the pitch with an injury hit side. Rory Brand, Sam Freeman, Hugo Castle, and Ben Haigh all injured in the first 40 gave the visitors a tough mountain to climb with just one replacement for the entire half.

Debutant flanker Jamie Atherton was given the hard task of playing the 2nd half on the wing for the injury hit Hoppers.

Norman doubled his tally for the afternoon in the 44th minute earning Tigers their try bonus point and Matt Ireland kicked a penalty minutes later to increase the lead to 22.

Hoppers showed some resilience however and a smart take and powerful run from Sammy Russell set up a nicely worked try for Harry Holden.

Hoppers man of the match Sam Kyle-Clay helped his side knock on the door in the second half with his consistent high-level carries.

Dan Orwin’s side continued to pile on the pressure but couldn’t find the try line with Owain Williams coming the closest to crossing over.

The South Yorkshire unit topped off their afternoon with a last-minute try and a difficult conversion from Ireland meant the final score read 36-12.

Head Coach Dan Orwin says his sides attack was “affected” by the players out of position, but he isn’t “making excuses” for the performance.

Hoppers will look to get back on track next time out when they host Rossendale at Lightfoot Green Lane on December 6th, their final home game of 2025.

Louis Jefferson