Sheffield Eagles off to a flyer in the 1895 Cup

Eagles head coach, Craig Lingard, made two changes to the squad who beat Rochdale last time out, with Kieran Gill and Billy Walkley returning in the place of Alex Foster and Ryan Millar. After getting knocked out at the quarter final stage last year, the Eagles were hoping to get this season’s campaign off to the perfect start.

The two sides went into this game off the back of completely contrasting starts to their season, the Eagles unbeaten in the league so far, winning all five, and Swinton struggling as they went into this one off the back of six losses in a row.

With rain pouring down before kickoff, conditions were far from ideal for the two sides, with Swinton’s groundsmen working over time to clear the pitch of standing water and ensure the game could get underway. This led to a cagey opening 20 minutes, with both sides finding it difficult to gain the upper hand, exchanging sets and testing each other’s defence.

It was the Eagles however who broke the deadlock, with a quickfire brace from George Griffin on the 20 minute mark putting the visitors into a commanding lead.

With clear daylight between the teams, the Eagles looked to press home their advantage. Forcing Swinton into errors and winning penalties, the away side took charge of the game, before finally increasing their lead right on the stroke of half time, Kieran Gill going over in the right corner, making it 16-0 to the Eagles at the half-way point.

Three tries to the good in the first half, the Eagles came out flying, with tries from Jack Bussey and Connor Bowers inside the opening 10 minutes setting the tone for what was to come.

A yellow card for Corey Johnson halted the Eagles onslaught for the next ten minutes, as Swinton enjoyed their best spell of the game, knocking the ball on over the line, before another yellow was brandished, this time to the home side, handing the advantage back to the Eagles.

And it didn’t take long for the man advantage to count, Billy Walkley scoring less than a minute later, handing control back to the Eagles.

Tails up after that try, the final ten minutes saw three Eagles tries, Corey Johnson scoring his second in two games, before Matty Marsh added two more in the final five minutes, rounding off a brilliant performance from the Sheffield side.

Scoring an incredible nine tries in the game, the Eagles were comfortable winners, and booked their spot in the next round of the cup, where they will take on Rochdale Hornets in a month's time.

The Eagles are next in action at home on Saturday as they look to continue their perfect start to the season against Oldham at the Steel City Stadium.

Swinton Lions: Roberts, Fitzgerald, Jones, Connolly, Parkinson, Ratchford, Lynch, Kelly-Duffy, Roby, Reddecliff, Willia, McCurrie, Rodden.

Interchanges: Killan, Meadows, Coan, Kibula

18th Man: Butt

Sheffield Eagles: Marsh, Brown, Gill, Hodson, Walkley, Morgan, Lilley, Matongo, Bowes, Reilly, Bower, Farrell, Griffin

Interchanges: Johnson, Bussey, Broadbent, Peachey

18th Man: Ellis

Tries: Griffin (19’, 23’), Gill (40’), Bussey (46’), Bower (50), Walkley (68’), Johnson (71’), Marsh (75, 79’)

Goals: Lilley (8/9)