Whitehaven 64 Gateshead Thunder 10

GATESHEAD Thunder's wait for their first win continued after they crashed to a 64-10 defeat at Whitehaven.

The Co-operative Championship One basement side went the Recreation Ground looking to build on the signs of progress they displayed in their last match, which saw them restrict Doncaster to just 32 points last month.

But, after a competitive opening 25 minutes in Cumbria, the floodgates opened once again.

Thunder first-team coach Kevin Neighbour said: “We did well for the first 20-25 minutes – so much so that their coach David Seeds came down to the touchline to get his team going.

“But then we dropped the ball a couple of times inside our own 20-yard line and Whitehaven took advantage.

“While we kept the score down, we had something to hang on to but once they began running in tries it knocked our confidence.”

Thunder took the lead on eight minutes thanks to a try from Danny Wilson but, after Whitehaven’s Carl Sice levelled the scores with the first of a hat-trick of tries, the home side took control.

Prop Paul Cullnean scored twice and winger Craig Calvert also went over, as Whitehaven finished the first half 24-4 up.

Calvert and Sice extended that lead in the second half, although Jason Payne did add a second try for Thunder on the hour, converted by Dan O’Sullivan.

But Derry Eilbeck, Sice once again and then Matthew Haggarty, Loz Hamzat and debutant Martyn Wilson rounded things off for Whitehaven.

Carl Rudd – who replaced elbow injury victim Lewis Palfrey after only three minutes of the match – converted all but one of his conversion attempts.