Whitehaven 6 Sheffield Eagles 20: Turner hat-trick seals victory for Sheffield

On a heavy pitch, both teams struggled with their handling but Sheffield’s defence was organised and they gave the hosts a lesson in taking chances.

Most of the Eagles’ tries came from kicks but when it came to conversions three players took the role but all failed to add the extras. Eagles broke the deadlock with Kyle Briggs putting in a grubber kick for Turner to touch down for his third try in three games.

Poor handling was gifting Haven possession and the pressure saw Danny Craven get onto a kick from Brett Seymore with the scrum-half’s conversion giving the home team the lead.

Eagles hit back with two tries in as many minutes. Turner got his second from a high kick after what appeared a seven-tackle set. From the restart, Menzie Yere brushed aside the opposition before passing to full-back Quentin Lalu-Togagae to finish.

Patch Walker failed with the three conversion attempts.

Sheffield defended well with Macgraff Leuluai held up and Craig Calvert just in touch for a 12-6 lead at half-time.

Haven dominated possession from the restart but were hit by a counter-punch as Turner hacked on Dominic Brambani’s chip kick to complete his hat-trick. Briggs took over the goal kicking but could not add the extras.

Yere sealed the win from a Briggs kick. Brambani had no success with the conversion.

Whitehaven: Craven; Lepori, Hulme, Parker, Calvert; Gore, Seymore; Johnson, Coyle, Leiluai, Aiye, Allen. Substitutes: Fox, Davies, Newton, Hepi.

Sheffield: Laulu-Togagae; Turner, Yere, Smeaton, Taulapapa; Briggs, Brambani; Battye, Davey, Thorpe, Knowles, Straugheir, Walker. Substitutes: Aston, Worrincy, Tonks, Davies.

Referee: C Leatherbarrow (RFL).