Rhinos rampant in second half

The Rhinos started with a strong tackle set but immediately conceded two penalties, which allowed Portsmouth to gain 80 metres to the Rhino line, where quick hands set up Johnson for a first-minute Seahawks 6-0 lead.

However, Ipswich quickly made amends by forcing a Portsmouth defender into touch after an excellent kick and chase.

From the restart, the ball was popped to Brendan Cook, who cut a great angle to score under the posts.

On ten minutes, Portsmouth regained the lead after a Rhino error put them on the back foot and Seahawk quick plays set up Chris Reeves for an unconverted try.

But, once again, the Rhinos response was immediate, Tom Milne breaking the defensive line on halfway and sprinting under the posts.

A strong tackle set and quick hands gave Seahawks a 14-10 lead on 20 minutes but they were struggling to contain the powerful runs of Cook and Mike Fields, both adding tries to take a 20-14 lead.

However, the Seahawks hit back again with a try and a kicked penalty on the stroke of half-time to make the score 22-22.

Paul LeMarquand, whose kicking was excellent throughout, gave the Rhinos the perfect start to the second half when he found touch with the restart kick to set a scrum on 20 metres, from which Fields powered his way through the defence to score.

Jay Hatcher extended the score minutes later, pushing his way over from a penalty move and then provided the off load on the break for Thomas to wind his way through the defence to the posts.

In what was now becoming a less regular excursion into Rhino territory, an excellent passage of play by the Seahawks down the left side set up Welds on the wing to bring the score back to 40-26.

But Rhino Cook completed his hat-trick from a penalty play, then with a break from halfway set up Daryl Walters for the final try of the game.

LeMarquand capped a fine game with eight out of nine conversions.