The Gladiators finished third in the inaugural North Wales 9s tournament, which was played at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham prior to Crusaders’ 44-20 win over Bradford Bulls on Sunday.
The tournament, which was held to mark the launch of the North Wales Rugby League, saw the Gladiators line-up alongside Penrhyn Eagles from Bangor, Mid Wales Marauders from Welshpool, Conwy Celts from Colwyn Bay and the eventual winners Rhyl Exiles.
Chester lost their opening game 24-16 to Penrhyn as they paid the price for failing to land any of their conversions. Tries from Simon Quinn (2), Adam Pierpoint and Tom Burrows should have been enough for victory but the Eagles took advantage of some wayward goalkicking to secure the win with a late penalty try.
The Gladiators were then comfortably beaten 20-0 by a physical Rhyl Exiles outfit which contained a number of Welsh Student and Junior internationals. Chester worked hard in defence but paid the price for a lack of agression and composure with ball in hand.
There were no such problems in the third game where a monster hit from Liam Green in the opening minute set the tone. The Gladiators easily dispatched Conwy Celts 24-6 with tries from Andy Vaughan (2), Green and Chris Pape.
Chester then followed up with another convincing victory as tries by Josh Walker, Vaughan and Burrows helped the Gladiators claim a 16-4 win over Mid Wales Marauders to end the tournament in third place behind Penrhyn and Rhyl.
The players from all five sides stayed to watch the game, then paraded around the pitch at half-time to a huge applause. The trophy was presented by Wales coach Iestyn Harris, Patron of Wales Rugby League and loyal Crusaders fan Janet Ryder AM and Wales Rugby League president Mike Nicholas.
Meanwhile, the Gladiators first team lost 46-24 at home to Mancunians RL at Hare Lane on Saturday to slip to second place in the Cooperative Rugby League Conference table.
Chester were forced into a number of positional changes due to injuries and the visitors stormed into a commanding 28-0 lead before tries from Alexis Wilkie, Rich Owen, Tom Burrows, Declan Foy, Damon Williams and Adam Pierpoint gave the Gladiators hope. However, the efforts to get back into the match took their toll and Mancunians claimed a couple of late tries to secure the win.
However, the Gladiators A team gave the club reason to celebrate as they clinched a thrilling 22-20 victory over their Mancunians counterparts. Tries from Jim Green, Nick Joiner, Darran Jones and Dave Beddows helping the Gladiators claim their first win of the campaign.
The clubs U14s side were also in action on Saturday and showed plenty of potential before losing out 22-10 to Halton Farnworth Hornets. Tom Lock scored twice for the Gladiators who pushed the reigning North West Counties Division Two champions all the way.
For more information about playing or volunteering for Chester Gladiators please visit www.chestergladiators.com.