With the previous weeks poor display In the back of the mind, the Rossendale XV knew the magnitude of this game. With this thought, on a surprisingly firm pitch, Dale came flying out of the blocks against a young Burnage side.

Within minutes of the kick off, Dale's 'go to' runners were prominent leading to immense pressure on Burnage to clear their lines. Stephen Nutt's charge down was dived on over the line by Wynand Van Zyl for Dale's first score. Nutt added the extras. A second was added towards the end of the half from a powerful burst over the line by Leighton Taylor. The try came from good running rugby and stern defence from the home side. The half ended 14-0 with Burnage not finding their stride or any rhythm in their play in the first 40.

The second started like the first ended, with Dale maintaining their dominance in terms of territory and possession. Two scores in quick succession sealed the bonus point; the tries coming from Leighton Taylor and Paddy Pole. This was Dale's best period in that half with repeat penalties allowing Burnage to get on the front foot after the tries. Burnage took a quick tap from a short range penalty to dive over for their only score. The resilience and fitness of the away side came through as they willing attacked from all over the park. They were only quashed when a period of pressure from Dale, culminating from a break and offload from Wynand Van Zyl , leading to Tom Bedlow receiving a wide pass to drop over the line in the corner. This was the final score of the game with the conversion falling short. A good scramble defence from the home side prevented Burnage from adding a second try before the final whistle.

Next week Dale seek to right the previous result with a fixture at home against West Hartlepool (2:15pm KO)