Heartbreak for Toronto Wolfpack in a tight clash at Lamport Stadium

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Two penalties from Jarrod Sammut were enough to earn London Broncos a shock 4-2 Million Pound Game victory over the Toronto Wolfpack in Canada on Sunday.

The Broncos got over the line largely as a result of an immense defensive effort.

On four occasions Toronto were denied tries, with three of those incidents coming after London players held up their opponents over the tryline.

The tight clash at Lamport Stadium was the final Million Pound Game, with a change in structure coming in from next season.

Jarrod Sammut (left) kicked two penalties in the win as the fixture saw no tries scored  

Toronto had a first-minute try by skipper Josh McCrone disallowed for offside and fell behind when London half-back Sammut kicked a ninth-minute penalty, which proved to the only score of a defence-dominated first half.

London full-back Alex Walker recovered from an opening minute drop of the ball to put in a man-of-the-match display

The Broncos were impressive in defence and were the livelier side on attack, with Sammut pulling the strings and hooker Eloi Pelissier causing the Wolfpack all sorts of problems with his running.

Toronto missed a glorious chance when winger Mason Caton-Brown kicked a loose ball into space but his dribbling skills let him down near the line. They were temporarily reduced to 12 men when substitute hooker Andy Ackers was sin-binned for a late and high tackle on Pelissier.

Veteran prop Ashton Sims was held up over the line and second rower Andrew Dixon was brought down just short as Toronto pressed for a try.

Josh McCrone couldn’t get past an incredible London defensive performance 

Full-back Gareth O’Brien brought them level with a 56th-minute penalty goal but Sammut cancelled it out two minutes later with his second and O’Brien was off target with a longer-range effort soon after.

The Wolfpack’s last chance disappeared when stand-off Blake Wallace reached the line with nine minutes left but was held on his back in a magnificent tackle from London full-back Alex Walker, whose side held on for a 4-2 victory.

Backed by Australian mining tycoon David Argyle, who has stated he has a five-year plan to take the team into Super League, this is their first setback.

Wolfpack finished eight points clear of Broncos in the regular season and impressive victories in the Qualifiers against the likes of Leeds ensured they would be at home for this match.

The Wolfpack were looking to seal back-to-back promotions after their rise from League One last term, and they were only beaten twice in the Championship season. In fact won the Championship outright. Rugby League  UK are looking at this strange play-off system they have in place for next year, after complaints changes are expected.

Normally relegation is up and down and  two bottom teams in Premiership go down and two sides come up from the championship.

With the Wolfpack winning the Championship, under normal circumstances  they should have gone up into the Super League.

Changes have to be made in fairness for next season!

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