After a surprisingly close opening round, round two would prove to be the first real test of the new format with all four Super League sides hosting the Championship quartet.
Wonderful Wildcats Batter Bulls
Saturday's round opened came from the Rapid Solicitors Stadium as Wakefield Wildcats hosted Bradford Bulls with the hosts looking for their first win at the expense of a Bulls side hoping for successive victories.
Wakefield raced into a 24-0 lead inside 18 minutes with tries from Jon Molloy, Michael Sio, Mickael Simon and Nick Scruton with Lee Smith converting the quarter before scoring a self-converted try for 30-0 on 27 minutes. Bradford stemmed the scoring spree with a try from Adrian Purtell on 33 minutes which Danny Addy converted for 30-6, a score which lasted into the interval.
Bradford sealed back-to-back tries as Dale Ferguson (Addy conv) pushed them to 30-12 but the Wakefield charge resumed with a Smith penalty swiftly followed by a try from Reece Lyne which Smith improved for 38-12.
Further tries from Matt Ashurst and Jacob Miller with the latter converted by Joe Arundel with three minutes remaining sealed a huge win for the hosts which was dented slightly by a last gasp try from James Clare with Addy converting for a 48-18 final score.
Robins Rise As Fax Fall
Sunday featured three games with the first seeing the highest and lowest ranked sides meet at the KC Lightstream Stadium as Hull Kingston Rovers hosted Halifax with Fax looking to stage a shock against the Challenge Cup finalists.
The Robins made a perfect start with Josh Mantelleto crossing inside four minutes for 4-0 before Tyrone McCarthy added an effort on 11 minutes which Mantellato converted for 10-0. Dane Manning crossed on 21 minutes to score Fax's first points of the competition with Steve Tyrer converting for 10-6.
Mantellato scored two further self-converted tries either side of the interval for his hat-trick at 22-6 but Halifax reached double figures with 13 minutes to go as Tyrer crossed and converted for 22-12 to give them some hope. However, Fax were unfortunate late on as the Robins higher experience and fitness saw them run in tries from Ken Sio and Kris Welham with Mantellato converting both for a 34-12 final score.
Rampant Red Devils Crush Centurions
After suffering defeat at LSV in the Challenge Cup, Salford Red Devils looked for revenge as they hosted Leigh Centurions at the AJ Bell Stadium with Leigh looking to secure a 2015 double over their hosts.
Salford raced out of the blocks with a try inside three minutes from Ben Jones-Bishop for 4-0 before a 25 minute period saw the score remain at 4-0 until Scott Taylor crossed and Michael Dobson converted for 10-0. Iain Thornley added a third try before the interval on 34 minutes with Dobson's conversion opening up a 16-0 lead into the break.
Rangi Chase (Dobson conv) extended the lead to 22-0 just three minutes after the restart with Leigh's response being two tries in three minutes from Adam Higson and Greg McNally with Martyn Ridyard converting both for 22-12. Leigh's hopes were dented superbly as Salford ran in four tries in nine minutes with a second from Chase sandwiched between efforts from Junior Sa'u and Niall Evalds ahead of a try from Greg Johnson with Dobson converting all four for a 46-12 lead.
Leigh had the last say on the scoreline as McNally claimed his second try with three minutes remaining and Ridyard converted for a 46-18 final score.
Vikings Vanquish Exasperated Eagles
The final game of the round came from the Select Security Stadium as Widnes Vikings hosted Sheffield Eagles with the Eagles keen to improve after a heavy opening defeat.
Widnes raced into a 20-0 lead inside 27 minutes with tries from Kevin Brown and Charly Runciman either side of a brace from Stefan Marsh with Danny Tickle converting just the first and third tries. Rhys Hanbury and Dan Galea added further tries before the interval with the latter converted by Lloyd White for 30-0 before the Eagles prevented a first half blank with a late try from Scott Turner which Pat Walker converted for 30-6 into half-time.
Joe Mellor and Paddy Flynn pushed Widnes to 40 points within 15 minutes of the restart with the latter converted by White for 40-6. Sheffield sealed a second try as Keal Carlile crossed on 63 minutes with Walker improving the effort to 40-12. However, the Vikings proved their higher ranking with two late tries as Marsh completed his hat-trick ahead of a second for Charly Runciman for a 48-12 final score.
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