Rugby League: Halifax in need of help

Halifax slumped to their 11th consecutive defeat yesterday, going down 42-12 at home to Canberra Raiders in the World Club Championship. Even the presence of John Bentley on the wing, fresh from the Lions' victorious tour of South Africa, could not inspire the Blue Sox to achieve anything other than a vague respectability in the Pool A game.

It was a mixed afternoon for Bentley. He set up a try for Halifax, made several strong runs and tackles, but was sent to the sin-bin in the second half for holding down in the tackle.

The match was only eight minutes old when Canberra scored the first of their eight tries. The best one came early in the second half when Ken Nagas scored a quite astonishing individual effort. He gathered a kick deep inside his own half and ran a full 100 yards down the left wing, cut inside and spurned the opportunity of an easy touchdown to score underneath the posts.

Andy Goodway was bitterly disappointed after his Paris St Germain side went down 32-0 to Hunter Mariners in the World Club Championship yesterday.

It was not so much the size of the defeat as the fact that early in the second half, when they were trailing only 4-0 by virtue of an early try by Kevin Iro, he believed his side could win.

"That was when we should have grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck," Goodway said. "But we didn't ask enough questions of the opposition."

Graham Steadman kicked a goal for the 2,000th point of his career, but it was not enough for Castleford as they were outfought 24- 14 by Perth Reds.